The Past is Prologue
by Pernshinigami
Summary: Enter a multiverse of different anime, fiction and sci fi, in which strange people, and strange happenings lay a mystery at Death the Kid's feet, a mystery he must solve, to get clues to ancient shinigami history.  Multiverse crossover
1. Chapter 1

"You have to feel the joy." Gwen Ryuunami, Lieutenant of the Thirteenth Division of the Gotei Thirteen, Journeywoman Gatekeeper of the Strand, Celestial Dragon of the Water, strode up and down the line of shinigami and humans she was training. "I've divided my classes up by core type, every single one of you has a Matsuri type Soul Core, it means you get stronger with emotional stimuli, just like me and Morgan."

Morgan smiled, a younger vizard and 5th division Third Seat under Gwen's father Takato Aramaki, Tamer of Guilmon and Captain of the 5th division, she was blonde haired, green eyed like Gwen, and wild of body language and eye.

"I have tied to my waist, a sash, whomever of you can take it from me in battle, will get a whole chocolate cheesecake."

"WOOO HOOOOOOOOOOOO!" Exclaimed Konohamaru from his spot at the back of the line. "This is way better than Kakashi's bell exercise!"

"I'm sorry Gwen, I'll have to interrupt your favorite training exercise." Stein grinned, leaning on the crystal scythe

that Gatekeepers who served the Shinigami often carried instead of a keyblade. "I have a mission for you."

"Oh bummer."

"I'll take over." Morgan said pleasantly.

"Oooh no, I need you too. Sorry kidlets, spar for a bit and try not to kill each other."

"I'm not a KID." Annie Walker, a new recruit to the Gatekeeper department of supernatural investigation, or DSI, growled. "I'm a full grown agent of the CIA."

"I must protest as well." Olivier Milla Armstrong, the Leader of the Northern Wall of Briggs, pointed her rapier squarely at Stein's nose. His cigarette twitched in his mouth. "Apologize for calling me a CHILD."

Stein laughed. "Olivier, ask your brother Alex what I put him through when he was first recruited to the Gatekeepers. He will tell you not to point sharp objects at me, lest their holder find themselves being dissected. Hmmm, I wonder what makes him so strong... perhaps some genetic protien in the muscles." He turned his screw.

The woman glowered. "I have my eye on you mister Mad Scientist. If you bring a scalpel anywhere near me I will break your fingers." Olivier growled, turning and storming away, dragging her sword on the cobblestones. "I'm going to go put those eleventh division thugs through their own dojo window. I could use some exercise and some entertainment. Besides that, Kenpachi is mildly interesting."

"figures she'd go for Kenpachi." Cho chang muttered. "He's exactly on the outside what she is on the inside." She mounted her broom. "Going for a fly before I go home. Finals are nearly over and I have a spare hour or two." And she was gone.

Annie sighed, "I suppose I can go bug Gideon for some case files to study. I don't quite get profiling as much as I get spying." She sighed, striding off to find the former BAU special agent and DSI director.

Konohamaru sighed in disgust. "Thanks a lot you old Geezer!" He growled. "I was gonna beat all the grownups and have a WHOLE chocolate cake all to myself."

Stein twirled his scalpel between his fingers. Konohamaru yelped like he'd been kicked, pulled out his keyblade, sliced open a portal to Konohagakure, and went running. "NARUUUTOOOO! SAVE ME FROM THE SCARY SCREW MAN!"

"That was a little over the top." Gwen complained. "Did you have an office quickie with my father? I smell peanut butter. That means one thing, contact trace from guilmon to Takato to you."

Stein took a drag on his cigarette and blew a couple of smoke rings out. "Yes, but I have a mission for the two of you. So speculations on my sex life will have to wait."

Morgan grinned. "Oh?" She arched an eyebrow Spock style.

"I'll explain when we get there." Stein turned the corner into the main work building of what the Soul Society called jokingly "Ryoka Row." It contained the barracks for young refugees, multiple workshops and practice dojos and yards, equipment rooms, foundries, and even kitchens. This quarter of Seireitei had once been abandoned. Now it thrived with Gatekeepers, interdimensional peace keepers who had served the higher Gods, the Deii, for thousands of years.

Sweeping changes were taking the Gatekeepers, and the Shinigami as well. The shinigami were finding others of their kind, long lost to time, and learning the benefits that trade with different Ryoka of different dimensions could bring. Case in point the SWAT armors now being produced from Magicverse Dragonhide. The Ministry of magic had authorized limited trade with other worlds in some of their rarer and more valuable products. But dragon hide was the most in demand.

Maybe the members of human Law enforcement now teaching Gatekeepers and each other how to catch criminals when supernatural phenomena were involved were a sign of greater contact to come with the wider world. Gwen could hear Olivia Benson's voice droning from a lecture room who's door was open, as well as hear the avid scribbling of pens, brushes, and quills. "Many many times, the law doesn't catch up with the times. Historically the gatekeepers have tried to balance divine law with earthly law, and its up to your individual consciences how to make the two coexist. The answers aren't always going to be easy. But nothing worthwhile ever is."

Gwen sighed, thinking of her gravestone that didn't have a body under it. Answers never were, with any luck, when her mortal body died and she took her place as Captain of 9th as Yamamoto was so keen to have her do, it could be put in that grave. But if not, Gwen wanted her ashes scattered over the Pokemon World's Mount Coronet.

Change, never came easy. Stein mused. But there were things he wanted to tell Shinigami-sama that he'd been forbidden to. This... this was a first step. Gwen and Morgan had been chosen for their bravado and their warm hearts, something he could never do. He wanted to make a mystery for his students that they'd never forget, that even if they failed their evaluations, that they'd still have a mystery to mull over when they were old and gray.

And with any luck, Shibusen, and its leader Shinigami-sama, could join the wider multiverse. That was Stein's hope.

When they got there Stein's desk chair was turned with its back to the door. Gwen blinked.

Urahara spun the chair back around, holding his fan in front of his face. In the room with him were 8 costumes on mannequins, and along with her and Morgan Gwen counted Ichigo, Renji, Rukia, Byakuya, Soifon and Rangiku. Yoruichi was twining herself slyly between Soifon's legs. "oooh my little bee, you're going to be /dashing/ in what Urahara's made up for you. Sooooooo sexy and hot." Yoruichi drawled, purring happily.

Soifon had a blush growing in her cheeks. "Slinky yellow and black spandex doesn't strike me as being stylish. Don't /think/ I don't know that you're buttering me up right now."

Morgan snickered hugely, blushing slightly with a hint of blood showing in one nostril. /Soifon in spandex./ Morgan's inner hollow drooled.

/Yeah... spandex./ Morgan said dazedly.

/FOCUS BOTH OF YOU!/ Morgan's zanpakuto, Morrigan, roared.

"What in Hell's will are you staring at me for with that blush?" Soifon demanded. "And is that a /nose bleed/ threatening? Lewd vizard mongrel!"

"I'm sure no matter what you wear ma'am, you'll have the enemy so stunned by your beauty that they will never see your two hit kill shikai coming for their gonads, er... ma'am." Morgan blushed. "Any admiration I have is only admiration for your strength, not your other assets." She looked away at the ground, scuffing her feet.

"Oh Soifon, you were young once too weren't you?" Yoruichi asked. "ooooh Yoruichi-sama." she mocked.

"I suppose." Soifon smirked at Morgan's sheepishness.

Gwen rolled her eyes. Morgan liked ballsy domineering women and well endowed, heavily muscled men. Gwen was married, and had children, with two women, Major Motoko Kusanagi and her former boss, the enigmatic ancient Zoidian, ZP. Yeah, woman having kids with another woman, Gatekeepers could create some very strange things.

"Aherm..." Stein sighed. "You're all going to go in disguise to my world, each of these costumes were designed by Uryu, and programmed with special protection by me and Urahara. You may become invisible, inaudible, imperceptible, meaning you can't be sensed with soul perception, you may hide your status as a shinigami, and it automatically hides the distinguishing characteristics of your soul and your reiatsu from soul perception."

"Humans on Stein's world have an unusually high level of spiritual ability. They can /see/ a person's soul, and identify a person as being a shinigami. Which is unusual, on their world Shinigami are quite rare. Only two are publicly known, though some vestige of as many as seven others could still be out there." Urahara opened the file and sighed. "Ah, here it is, multiple entries from 800 years ago, dug up by Master Gatekeeper Nico Robin, Archeologist, and her former Apprentice Nami some years ago." Urahara sighed. "We need to see if Shinigami-sama, and his organization are people that we can trust and forge an alliance with, to do this we need some solid intelligence. For now, you'll be disguising yourselves as superheroes and you'll have cover IDs using special gigai. The superhero guise gives you more than ample motivation to want to interfere if saaaaay, a student were to encounter an arrancar and mistake it for a Kisshin's egg."

"You mean Aizen's arrancars are there?"

"An advanced guard, a fraccion by the name of Marorin Delacroix Queso." Stein sighed. "Spirit and I tried to take him on, but... that boy has some nasty nasty tricks up his sleeve. Water type illusions, which is why we're sending Gwen. I'm hoping she can break his water type ressurecion by taking away the water he uses for illusions somehow."

Gwen blushed. "I've never been up against water illusions. So I don't know how I'll perform but..."

Urahara chuckled. "I doubt you'll be able to use them if you haven't yet, but you may be able to break them. After all, breaking something doesn't require proficiency, only enough understanding to destroy."

"Destruction is what I do best."

"Yes Ryuunami, we all know you do that best." Byakuya snickered. Renji giggled.

"At least my Kido is better than that of /your/ lieutenant." Gwen snickered. "Tell me Renji, are you as small between your legs as that last Shakkaho?"

"Only Ichigo is allowed to know." Ichigo blushed furiously.

Rukia laughed. "ooooh I love what you gave me Stein. I'll truly look like an ice queen."

"I have a gift for each of you." Stein opened a case at the back of the room. "These crystal scythes were the weapons of choice of shinigami and their servants in ages past, given as a gift for distinguished service." Stein gave each Shinigami one of the crystal scythes like the one he used for a gatekey when he wasn't with Spirit. "These weapons predate zanpakuto or magic weapons."

"Where's Spirit by the way?"

"Finishing up his divorce with Kami." Stein replied. "We'll be keeping an eye out for you while you're there, but if we see you in your costumes, you haven't done your jobs right." Stein smirked. "i'm giving each of you a clue to give to the Students you'll be haunting... er... evaluating..." He handed files to each of them in turn. "How you reveal it, is up to you. Upon request from Dumbledore, I've hidden the Deathly Hallows somewhere on my world. These clues will lead the students in question to all three artifacts in the trio and explain their creator."

Gwen grinned as she opened the file she had been handed. "Death the Kid, son of Shinigami-sama."

"He's got the most resources, but the clue I've set you is to hint that other shinigami exist out there."

"So this stone of ressurection listed in the file is shinigami make?" Soifon asked coldly.

"Oh yes, Shinigami-sama's grandfather, Kid's great grandfather, created it. And it doesn't do what its name implies by the way. It only allows you to converse with the Shades of those who have already been reincarnated."

Soifon nodded. "I don't believe any shinigami would create something to violate the cycle of life and death unless they were traitors in some fashion." Soifon said, clearly satisfied. "But talking to the Shades is an accepted practice, so the ancient records say."

"One more secret of our people lost." Byakuya scowled.

Gwen rolled her eyes, overly upright nobles sometimes both amused and irritated her. "Do we get a dry run of these?"

"Take an hour or two to get used to the costumes." Urahara agreed. "Then depart."

* * *

Gwen ended up sitting on the roof of the Gallows Manor and listening as Kid showed his new friends, Maka Albarn, Soul Eater, Blackstar and Tsubaki around his house. "And this painting is perfectly symmetrical, a wonderful..." Gwen tuned out any mention of symmetry. She'd already figured out that Kid was OCD. It mattered absolutely zilch to her, it was a /barrier/ for him to overcome, not an exclusionary criterion. If they denied Kid the chance to be tapped as a gatekeeper, they'd have to deny arrancar!Light, arrancar!Misa, Mello, Olivier, Sai, Wrath, Greed, Envy and anyone else who had ever shown signs of disturbing psychological or psychotic behavior. Kid was obsessive compulsive, there were worse things to be.

Kid was getting frustrated at his new friends for not being interested in or getting "Symmetry." Gwen chuckled. Gwen's costume was uncomfortable, and instead of sitting on the roof she shifted her position to standing on the air outside Kid's window.

The costume was a long midnight blue shroud with a hood that tapered into what looked like two horns. The mask was a chinese dragon skull, the jaw rigged to move with her own jaw and equipped with a voice changer. The shoes were elfin make from the Middle Earth world, so were the gloves, both enormous mithril affairs sharp as actual dragon talons and modeled after the real thing. If she left tracks, they'd be genuine dragon prints.

Gwen waited until Liz and Patti left with Maka and Tsubaki for some girl time. Blackstar and Soul had gone off to practice their physical combat moves. Gwen waited, and watched, as Kid opened the window to admit the hot Nevada air as the sun went down.

Gwen waited as Kid lay back on his bed and slowly, slowly began to fall asleep in the fading light. She landed nimbly on the windowsill, then landed to the floor with a clink Kid couldn't hear.

Gwen carefully twisted three knobs on her right glove. She became visible, audible, and perceptible vaguely to any in the room as a shinigami. She flicked her fingers and the lights went out in the room, Kid was drowsily asleep as the sun set outside, somewhat vaguely aware. He was in that... odd twilight place between sleep and alertness.

Gwen bent close to Kid's ear, the stance one of grace despite the heavy costume she wore. "Death the Kid, there is so much more in heaven and earth than what you know, look beyond the Symmetry, and see the GLORY of the wider world. Reclaim your people, you and your father have sooooo much to learn."

Kid sat up bolt upright, reaching to try and smack Gwen. Gwen chuckled, flash stepping out of the way. "Too slow little reaper. But then again, you are a child, I would not expect you to be fast. You're good, flash god you are not."

"Who are you?" Kid demanded.

"My name is Mirai, and I come from a land far, far, far beyond. Home for me is wherever my Soul is standing. And my Family are those who make my Soul /sing!/" Gwen raised her head, jaw of the mask open in a silent croon. "Come and find us Kid! COME AND FIND THE REST OF YOUR PEOPLE!" And Gwen disappeared with flash step, then from sight, then sound, and then from soul perception.

Kid growled, "Liz, patti!" Oh wait, they were gone. Having a large group of new friends certainly had its downsides. "Damn." Kid ran to the window, looking out beyond as mist appeared where Gwen had stood a few seconds before. The mist formed into a dragon, which turned its head to look at Kid, then flew straight at the window, freezing onto the wall a symbol from the file. A winged skull and crossed keys, very old, very distinctive, with a phoenix clutching the skull in its talons, wings and tail wrapped around it.

Beneath this symbol, words froze themselves into the wall.

"Warm yourself by the fire son, and the morning will come soon

Take me from this world, save me, what if we all die young?"

Kid ran outside and looked at the symbol, then immediately summoned the hologram of his father, enabling communication with him up in the deathroom. "Father, are there any more shinigami other than you and me?"

"not that I am aware of. Two enormous supernatural wars wiped most of us out."

"I think I was just visited by one, a female, she was dressed in a midnight blue shroud much like yours, but her skull, gloves and shoes were modeled after a chinese dragon. She introduced herself as Mirai and she said that she comes from a land far far away. She /also/ said that home for her is where her soul is standing, and family are those who make her soul sing. Does this sound familiar?"

Shinigami-sama scratched his head. "not at all, where is she now?"

"Ran out when I tried to question her further. She said she wanted me to come and find her and... someone else. And I'm assuming this frozen into the wall immediately following her exit is her doing." Kid gestured to the wall. "I recognize the lines as being from a rock band I'm rather fond of, but I don't know the symbol."

Shinigami-sama peered. "oooooh, this was my Grandfather's symbol. Your great grandfather Kid. He disappeared some centuries ago. But he was an ingenius creator of spiritual artifacts. Not on the same caliber as Eibon was, but close to it." He scratched his head.

"You never talk about our ancestors father."

"no, but thats because I don't know all of them. Not beyond Ojiisama." Shinigami-sama sighed. "I would very much like to know who our ancestors were Kid. Soooo much of our people's past is missing from the record beyond temple murals and cave paintings." He frowned. "If you and your friends can find out something about our people's past not in the archives, I'll give you all an extra credit grade. I'm stuck here Kid, but I do want to know about our people."

Something glinting at the foot of the frozen message caught Kid's eye. "What's this?" He picked it up, holding it up to the moon light.

It was a carved Obsidian mirror, with ornate carvings and some kind of language on it. "Father, what's this?"

Shinigami-sama inspected the object, and Kid felt his father's wavelength become hushed in awe. "When my parents were married, my grandfather, your great grandfather, made a series of obsidian mirrors as a wedding present. But after they died, grandfather claimed them from my father's personal effects. He said that someday, he'd give them to me."

Kid smiled a small smile. "I'd like to study this a little bit, I'll bring it by tomorrow morning."

"Of course Kid, consider it part of your extra credit project."

Kid smiled, extremely smug, as he carried the mirror inside. He was excited, this was almost more interesting than symmetry.

* * *

Across the city, Morgan watched over Maka and Soul's apartment, standing on the air in her costume outside the living room window. Soul was practicing on a keyboard. Morgan smiled when she realized he was playing a variation on "simple and clean" by Utada Hikaru.

Morgan decided to seriously fuck with Soul's head. So she turned the dial on the bracelet on her wrist and began to sing along with the music he was playing.

_"When you walk away_

_You don't hear me say_

_"Please, oh baby, don't go"_

_Simple and clean is the way that you're making me feel tonight_

_It's hard to let it go_

_Hold me_

_Whatever lies beyond this morning_

_Is a little later on_

_Regardless of warnings_

_The future doesn't scare me at all_

_Nothing's like before..."_

Morgan had a /very/ good voice. When she went to Pern, she sang at gathers a /lot./ Of course, modern music was all the rage on Pern. She played for other Gatekeepers, many others in the gatekeepers learned to sing, or to read music, and quite a few learned the Pernese drum language. But few could do it well.

Soul grinned stupidly, peering at the window. "Hey Maka did you hear something?"

Morgan grinned, continuing to sing the bridge and chorus even after Soul had stopped playing. Her voice rose and fell across the scales like a songbird. Soul and Maka went to the window, and Morgan moved a little ways back.

When she reached the end of the song, Morgan beamed. "oye, shark face, are ya gonna throw me another tune or am I gonna be piping solo tonight?" She demanded with a smirk.

"WHO are you?" Maka demanded, leaning out the window.

"Who me? I'm the little voice in your head that mocks you. Oh wait, I can't be, because your soul doesn't sing the way /he/ does."

"What do you mean my soul doesn't sing?" Maka asked, cocking her head curiously but clearly annoyed with Morgan's roundabout answer.

"Everything in the universe has a song as its heartbeat. People who are musically inclined are more in tune with their environment. Even though I can sense your soul loud and clear, it doesn't sing the way the soul of someone /truely/ at one with their surroundings and their own nature does. You poor misguided girl, your weapon has it more together than you do. How can you possibly not hear the music of the universe?" Morgan asked airily.

"I don't even understand what you mean! Are you talking about some kind of Soul Perception?"

"She's talking about Zen I think. The way whomever this invisible voice thinks, the universe sings to her when she attunes herself to it, and so do souls." Soul explained.

Morgan chuckled. "Exactly, I percieve souls as a song, its not soul perception per say, just a feeling I get. But I don't get anything from you, your soul doesn't sing a single note." Morgan twisted the dial that would make her visible and leaned in to face Maka, a warm smile on her face.

Morgan's hair had been dyed red, her face painted and a crow mask pulled over it. Contacts in her green eyes made them appear an unearthly blue. Her outfit was modeled after a crow. Morgan concentrated on exuding all the warmth and friendliness she could, and the Meister leaned closer.

Maka felt the warmth that Morgan exuded, it drew her in like a moth to the flames but she hesitated. "Um... I still don't know your name."

"My name is Morrigan. I was named for an old Celtic grim reaper a veeerrry long time ago."

"I thought Morrigan was a witch?" Maka blinked.

"Thats Morgana, Mabaa's predecessor. People often confuse the two." Morgan flicked her fingers, painted with glittery black makeup modeled after a crow's feathers, in a dismissive fashion. "I'm my own lady, I don't let the reputation of a witch hundreds of years old get in the way of the image I want to create. When I'm out for artistic expression I go for it, no holds barred, and yes, this costume is a way of artistic expression."

"So Morrigan is a stage name." Soul mused.

"Haiiiii, guilty as charged." Morgan giggled. She turned so she was hanging upside down above their door. "Well, in all honesty its not just a matter of self expression. I have a position to maintain under the makeup and the mask. I'd love to attend Shibusen as a Meister, but I have professional obligations elsewhere that keep me from joining." She beams. "Sooooo to satisfy my itch I dress in a flashy disguise and come bug unwitting Meisters and Weapons during the day."

"Don't you have a weapon though?"

"My cousin Shadow is a katana. He helps me when I need him. But he was busy tonight, besides, I have to /share/ him with my other cousin Nightrunner." Morgan yawned. "I don't want to share a partner with someone, I want my own weapon partner."

"Its too bad you can't attend." Maka pouted. "Can you at least give me your real name? Or maybe what profession you're in?"

"Business." Morgan chimed. "Thats all you're allowed to know." Soul just laughed.

"What about your /name/ besides Morrigan?" Maka pressed.

"Hmmmm..." Morgan pursed her lips thoughtfully. Then she sang. "We are the long forgotten sons, and daughters that, don't belong to anyone, we are the looooong forgotten sons, we work to fix the work that you've undooooneee. Don't fall, I see lights in the distance, they're not far away..."

Maka glared at Morgan irritably, "Maka... CHOP!" Morgan found herself bashed in the head by a copy of Twilight. She clattered to the ground. BAM! The window slammed shut. "Ouch... she can't take mockery well can she?"

Morgan sighed, getting up and dusting herself off, she drew the insignia Stein had told her to draw, then added in greek and roman characters. "Apocrypha of the Shinigami, Winged Lions and Scythes." Then she placed a mirror made from obsidian at the base of the inscription.

* * *

Ichigo and Rukia slipped into Blackstar and Tsubaki's apartment, through their bedroom windows. Ichigo checked the bed, as far as he could tell Tsubaki was asleep. He moved across the room to place an ornately carved Obsidian mirror on her desk.

Ichigo's costume was that of a tall, black lion. Urahara had been very proud when he'd given it to Ichigo, saying that he had the soul of a lion and he couldn't think of a more fitting costume. Rukia was dressed as a yuki onna, something that made sode no shirayuki endlessly proud. The zanpakuto kept trying to coach Rukia in how to act like a proper Yuki onna, and Rukia was proud of herself when she got sode no shirayuki's tips correctly.

Suddenly Ichigo felt a blade at his throat from behind. "Don't move." A girl's voice warned, "I've changed my arms into scythes and chains, if you move, I'll take your head off."

Ichigo froze, eyes closing as he relaxed in the girl's grip. That must be Tsubaki Nakatsukasa.

"What are you doing here?"

"Is your will to protect as a weapon solid?" Ichigo asked, the voice changer in his lion mask making his voice very gravely and deep.

"What the hell kind of question is that from a burgler?" Tsubaki demanded, tense, and clueless.

"Look on your desk..." Ichigo growled. "I didn't take something, I left something behind."

"What did you leave?"

"I'll answer that question if you answer mine. Is your will to protect as a weapon as hard as the steel held to my throat? Is your soul solid as your weapon form?"

"Yes." Tsubaki said coldly, "answer my question." she was starting to get angry now. This wasn't like her, but something about this figure in a lion mask felt odd to her. She couldn't put her finger on it, almost like his soul wavelength was being muffled somehow.

"What I left for you is a clue to an ancient mystery. One I'm certain Shibusen has the resources to solve."

"And why are you giving this clue to a student?"

"Who says you're the only person getting one?" Ichigo smirked behind his mask.

Tsubaki sighed, releasing Ichigo. "GET OUT. And don't sneak in in the middle of the night again. You scared me!" At that scolding, Ichigo chuckled. "Scaring an assassin is not a good thing you know."

He turned and walked to the window. Then he hesitated and turned around. "My name is Raion." And then he was gone. Being Japanese, Tsubaki wondered what kind of parents would name their kid Raion, the name /meant/ lion, it was a literal katakanization of the english word. Then remembered asking Soul the same question when /they/ met. "Of course, its an assumed name, like students sometimes change their name." Tsubaki frowned.

A loud cry of "YAHOOOO! Please be my girl Yuki?" Blackstar begged from the other room.

"NO CHANCE YOU PERVERT, JUST TAKE THE DAMNED CLUE ALREADY AND STOP HUGGING ME!"

Tsubaki ran to her Meister's room. A black mirror with carvings on it similar to hers was sitting on Blackstar's desk. Blackstar was hugging a woman in pale, sparkling white makeup with short black hair. She had snapping eerie blue eyes and was wearing a beautiful white formal kimono decorated with a snow design. She carried a sword at her belt and had a fan in her hand.

Blackstar had Rukia in an iron grip and was begging her to go on a date with him. Rukia was struggling to get out of his grip until... BAM! She kicked Blackstar across the room, dropping her fan in her haste to run. " YOU DUMB PERVERT! YOU SHOULDNT LAY HANDS ON A LADY WHEN I ALREADY SAID NO!" Rukia stood outside the window. "NEXT TIME I SAY DONT TOUCH ME I MEAN DONT TOUCH ME!"

Blackstar lay there, blushing furiously with a dumb grin on his face. "What a woman, oooooh Yuki, I will make you miiiiiiine." Blackstar swooned.

Tsubaki groaned, then hurried to the window bowing to "Yuki" "I'm terribly sorry, when Blackstar gets like this its hard for him to contain himself."

Ichigo sniggered, growling through the voice changer in his mask. "So I herd you lieek Yuuuukiii." He teased.

"RAION YOU IDIOT." Rukia grabbed Ichigo by the collar, leaving him choking through the mask, dragging him away.

"What's got you so steamed?" Ichigo asked when they were a safe distance away.

"He just looks at me ONCE and tackles me and starts groping me. I mean, when I went into your window you never did that!"

"Yeah well, I'm glad I didn't or you'd probably have given me brain damage instead of shinigami powers." Ichigo frowned. "Lets go." He began to walk across the skies of Death city, and Rukia stood and followed him. Sode no Shirayuki amused herself by releasing soft, puffy mist beneath their steps.

* * *

Ox and Kim were teaming up on a lesson, an enormous rhino kisshin with a seriously thick hide, a lot of brawn and a bad attitude. The Kisshin brought a massive grey hand with leathery skin and thick stumpy fingers down in a swat to try and flatten Kim.

"Chire..." a deep bass voice said softly. "Senbonzakura Kageyoshi."

A blast of cherry blossom like blades tipped the rhino kisshin straight over. "Sting all enemies to death, Suzumebachi!" A strident female alto voice yelled. Flash, stab stab!

It happened so fast that Ox could barely track their attack. The kisshin imploded. The flower petals wooshed by them, surrounding the two Meister's and their weapons. One of them reached out to gently stroke Kim's cheek. "Daijoubu...?" The bass voice asked. Ox's Japanese was slightly rusty, but he stammered. "G... g... genki desu..."

"H... hai..." Kim blushed slightly. "Genki desu."

"Good." The female voice said stubbornly. "Children should not go looking to kill monsters, what on Earth is Shinigami-sama thinking opening a school to teach children to fight such things?"

The cherry blossoms formed a hole, and through it Ox and Kim could see two figures arguing. One was a woman in an outfit of yellow and black spandex and wearing a beautiful crown of enamel glass and copper. The other was a tall, proud man in a samurai costume and mask, his hair in a topknot and some kind of silver bar shaped hairpiece in his hair.

"Now now, Queen Bee, this is a foreign land, with foreign customs." The samurai said softly in his deep bass voice.

"That is no excuse Sakuyaken." The woman growled. "We must be away, there are other things to do this night."

The cherry petals threw themselves skyward all at once. As they crossed between Ox and Kim, Havar and Jackie, they obscured Byakuya and Soifon's discrete exit.

Left with the kisshin's egg soul they'd been hunting, Ox looked down, realizing two carved obsidian mirrors had been left for them. "Hmmm? What are these? This looks kind of like Japanese kanji, but... it looks /ancient/."

"Thats Shinigami-sama's seal, we should bring it to him before class tomorrow."

* * *

Renji ran over the rooftops to find an apartment on the north side of town. Inside lay his target, Kilik Rung. He grinned and took in a deep lungful of air, and bellowed through the amplifier and voice changer in his mask. "IS YOUR SOUL STERN ENOUGH TO DEFEND YOUR PRIDE? WELL MEISTER?"

Kilik heard the bellow and ran to the window. His eyes met golden yellow orbs in an enormous nue mask. It was a nue costume, Kilik had learned about them in school in his supernatural monsters class. There was the snake tail, a skeleton with a red mane, moving independantly of the costume's wearer. The mask was a baboon skull who's jaw moved up and down with the words of the speaker.

"DEFEND YOUR PRIDE MEISTER! ITS A WILD WORLD OUT THERE! STAND STOUT AS A BABOON'S BONE!" Renji bellowed.

Fire and Thunder squealed in delight, running to the window and pointing to Renji.

"Who inquires as to the sturdiness of my Soul?" Kilik demanded down.

"I am the Baboon King! Nuekage! I test the souls of young Meisters and Weapons to see how stout their determination is! You made a vow to defend! How strong is your will to fullfill it?"

"I will fight to my last breath." Kilik replied. "Until my back breaks and I bleed out." His face was determined and extremely fired up.

"Good man!" Renji exclaimed, bobbing up and down in a baboon like way. "I will return to challenge your resolve later, I have something for you, a puzzle piece of sorts. Bring it to Shinigami-sama in the morning, it was made by his grandfather!"

"I will treat it as I would my own grandfather's work." Kilik said solemnly as he, Fire and Thunder hurried down to their apartment building door to meet Renji.

Kilik looked up, and saw the feral red eyes under Renji's mask and faint whisps of red hair. Fire and Thunder squealed at the sight of Renji and tackled his legs, hugging him at about knee level. "OOF!" Renji exclaimed as he went down.

Kilik blinked when he saw Fire and Thunder's reaction. "Er... Nuekage-san, they only act that giddy for a shinigami... er..."

"some mysteries are best, if they take longer to solve." Renji beamed, handing over the mirror made of obsidian and smiling as he disappeared with flash step.

* * *

That night, far north of town, Shinigami-sama was monitoring an odd patch of mist via his mirror. The mirror couldn't penetrate it, but magic wasn't being used. Every so often flashes of light and the odd animal sound would issue from within.

But within, the zone of mist was alive with animal shaped hollows. And in the center of them, sitting on the edge of the bluff the zone enveloped, was a gray arrancar with rubbery dolphin like skin and an uncanny grin. He was singing in a happy alto voice. (1)

_Nozoite minai ka fushigi sugiru sekai wo_

_Annai suru yo, bokura no halloween_

_Kore ga halloween, tanoshii halloween_

_Kabocha ga himei wo ageru_

_Kore ga halloween_

_Machijuu sawaguu_

_trick or treat minna ga shinu hi made_

Around Marorin Delacroix Queso, the animal hollows hissed and howled and bounced around, dancing with him, two and three headed dogs, enormous skeletal cats and winged horses, crab hollows with over a hundred eyes, fish hollows that floated in the air and twisted around him elegantly, snake hollows that snapped poisonous fangs and hissed. It was a terrifying array of animals, even wolf hollows, eagle hollows, all of them either ancient greek, roman or egyptian holy animals and animals of the zodiac signs.

_Kyoufu no machi_

_Hibiku himei_

_suteki na halloween_

_beddo ni kakureri ore wo miro_

_Surudoi kiba ni maka na me_

_Kaidan ni kakureru ore wo miro_

_Hebi no yubi ni kaminoke kumo_

_Kore ga halloween, tanoshii halloween_

_Halloween_

_Halloween_

_Halloween_

_Halloween_

Marorin began to conduct, and the animal hollows stomped and howled and keened in time with him, adding a bizzare, feral harmony with Marorin's song.

_Halloween town, kono machi wa_

_Pumpkin song ni daikassai_

_Halloween town, kono machi wa_

_Minna ga kyoufu wo daikangei_

_toori no kado wo magatte goran_

_wakuwaku shichauze nanika ga_

_suki da ze!_

_halloween!_

_akakuro nebaneba!_

_kowai darou? ara zenzen yo!_

_noroi no kotoba tonaeru dake de_

_Yamiyo no tsuski ni noru wa_

_kyoufu no koe hibiku himei_

_suteki na halloween_

_atashi wa piero yo, okao na hen_

_ikinari araware sugu kieru_

_senaki ga tsumetaku kanjiru kai?_

_boku da yo kurokami yurasu kaze_

_oresama tsukiyo ni utsura kage_

_Kyoufu no yume nara omakase da_

_Kore ga halloween tanoshii halloween_

_Halloween_

_halloween_

_halloween_

_halloween_

_halloween_

_halloween_

_acchi mo kocchimo kowain da_

_sou ja nai to tsumaranai_

_sore ga minna no shigoto sa halloween_

_Halloween town, kono machi wa_

_Minna ga kyufu wo daikangei_

_Suteki na jack ni odokasaretara_

_Tachimachi shinzou tomaru yo_

_suki da ze! halloween minna de gyaa!_

_taisetsu na otoko no otoori da_

_eiyuu Jack warera no ou_

_minna hakushu de tataero_

_kyou wa halloween, tanoshii halloween_

_halloween halloween halloween halloween_

_halloween town kono machi wa_

_pumpkin song ni daikassai_

_la la la lala la la la lala_

_la la la lala la la la lala_

_la la la lala la la la lala_

As the song ended, Marorin threw his head back and laughed insanely, the sound having a touch of orca or dolphin noise in it and his teeth were definately cetusian (sp?). Marorin's cackling of insane delight was interrupted by a small black hole opening behind him, a communications garganta, Zephly's special creation.

"Having fun my darling?"

"Oh yes, these minions you have supplied me may have come from animal souls, but they have superb sense of timing and they love music. I have them wrapped around my finger."

"I don't quite care about the rest, but if Cerby and Veela come back shredded I'll have your hide. I'm quite fond of multi headed dogs and those two are my personal work animals. They provide pack muscle, hair for clothing, and plenty of intimidation. I'll be very, very angry if you come back without them."

"Haaaaiii, don't worry about me, I'm always very good with your familiars." Marorin beamed.

"Very good." a note floated through the garganta to Marorin, who caught it neatly. "Wait for three days, then give this to Spirit Albarn."

"What is it?"

"A threat to his daughter's life, I'm going to test them by throwing them into a tizzy. Threatening a deathscythe's daughter should do the trick."

* * *

That night Gwen's dreams were consumed with nightmares. "hoooold me, whatever lies beyond this morning, is a little bit along." "you shinigami are so predictable. I love using your soft hearts against you." VWOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM, the blinding flash of a cero blast. "Regardless of warnings, the future doesn't scare me at aaaallll..." Jubilife City burned beneath her dragon wings. Gwen raised her head, keening in anguish, a dragon death knell usually only uttered by the Pernese dragons. Pokemon screaming in fear, human souls fleeing before the hollows. "Nothing's like before..."

She sat up straight in bed with a shriek, she'd spent the night in Stein's lab with the door locked and barriered by ice. "Ryuunami-san, you're going to be late."

"And you're a stalker." Gwen snarled at Spirit. She'd crashed at Stein's place the night before. "Over the Hill Scythe. Are you here to fret, whine and whimper about your daughter like a bratty teenage girl?"

"No, I wanted to warn you that Kami is still in town, hasn't left yet, she'll be gone by tonight but with her soul perception."

"So I have to wear that fucking suit all day."

"Shinigami-sama can't know that you're here yet. If worst came to worst and you were found then there wouldn't be much of a trust issue because you're a shinigami, but neither of us want to push that."

"Good, get out so that I can get dressed and have some GOOD coffee ready, I don't care if its in a beaker as long as its clean." Gwen growled.

Spirit left, and about two hours later, Gwen was following Kid, invisible, down the halls of Shibusen towards the Deathroom. "Hey Kid." Soul waved cheerfully. He, Maka, Blackstar, Tsubaki, Ox, Havar, Kim, Jackie, Kilik, Fire and Thunder had all arrived more or less simultaneously at the entrance.

"you got one too?" Kim asked, blinking in surprise.

"Yeah, some girl singing in a crow costume left it leaning against the wall outside our apartment." Soul yawned. "have to say, she had some singing voice on her."

"How odd, a shinigami I've never seen before left the one at the mansion, Father offered me extra credit if I could solve the puzzle they're putting out. He thinks they have secrets to our people's past."

"I think the one that left my mirror was a shinigami too. Fire and Thunder only react /that/ way to Shinigami-sama." Kilik put in. "But it looked and felt nothing like him."

"What way?" Kid demanded.

THUD! Fire and Thunder tackled his legs and hugged him. "Like that. When Fire and Thunder first met Shinigami-sama they ran right over to him and clung to that springy leg of his. The old man said its because they're nature shamens, that meeting a new shinigami they've never met before makes them happy."

"Oh." Kid looked down at Fire and Thunder, who were snuggling his legs. He hesitated, then reached down and tousled their hair for a moment before prying them off. They ran back over to Kilik and hid behind him, looking out at Kid with huge, cute looking eyes.

"So each of these mirrors contains a message right?" Maka inspected hers. "Maybe if we put them in the right order..."

"I'll leave this to you guys, if you need a BIG man to beat some answers out of these weird visitors let me know, but puzzles are too boring for the man who's Bigger than God!" Blackstar declared.

"You mean you're too impatient to try and solve them." Ox said slyly.

"What's that supposed to mean? I'm a big guy, I'll leave puzzles to you little people." Blackstar beamed hugely and snorted steam out of his nose.

"I'll help you if you want Kid." Maka and Ox said at once.

Spirit smiled and let them in, holding the door open long enough for Gwen to slip in behind them.

"I like puzzles." Maka was saying as they came in. "Besides, the history of the shinigami is a puzzle worth finding out don't you think?"

"Especially if it raises our GRADES." Tsubaki glared at Blackstar. "its too bad such a big man can't get a big grade."

"You're not resenting my bigness are you Tsubaki?"

"No Blackstar, but I wish you'd show a bit more interest in your school work that /doesn't/ involve fighting." Tsubaki sighed. "I know there's more in you than what you show everyone, but you NEVER let anyone know!"

"An assasin NEVER shows his true nature!" Blackstar declared.

"Forget it Tsubaki, you can't win with him, its like you're not even speaking." Maka sighed.

Ox frowned at the picture on his mirror. "Hey Kim, line your mirror up with mine."

"Sure." They held them together. "Oh SHIT!"

"What is it?"

"If you put my mirror next to Kim's, it shows the four horsemen of the apocalypse!" Ox declared. "Look!"

"Its monotone, how can you tell?" Kid asked.

"Because, in the book of revelation where the horsemen are shown, it says what weapons each one carried. The white horseman was the antichrist, and he carried a bow and a crown. The red horseman represents war in the form of civil war and civil unrest, and he carried a sword. The black horseman symbolizes famine and economic instability and carries a scales. And the pale horseman is supposedly "death" and carries a scythe, but its unsure whether John of Patmos meant a shinigami or some more powerful essence of Death." Ox replied.

"Essence of Death?" Soul looked nervous.

"Its in the books for the advanced classes." Kid said dully as they walked under the guillotines, nearing the end of them. "According to the texts I read, Shinigami are simply the administrators of Death. We protect its cycle, but we don't actually take lives. That is reserved for a force usually referred to as the /Essence/ of Death, a pure energy with no mind or weak sentience but with a definate physical form. This Essence is neuter, neither male nor female, and immortal, wheras even shinigami can die if we are injured fast enough and badly enough."

"Hmmmm." Maka leaned over Ox and Kim's shoulder.

"If you put the mirrors in the right order they'll reveal a mural and a story." Shinigami-sama sighed as they entered. "Good morning students, you're here because of the mysterious visitors our city had last night. One confirmed shinigami among them, and to inspect these mirrors. They were made by my grandfather. When my parents died, my grandfather claimed them among their estate, but he disappeared without a trace, no body, no sign he was dead, just disappeared into thin air." Shinigami-sama sighed. "The mural has some kind of story to it, but my grandfather said I'd only be able to read the writing when the right time came."

/Sounds kind of familiar./ Kid thought dully to himself. /There's a lot of things I can't learn until the right time comes." "Lets see if this is the right time then." He laid all the mirrors out in a circle and stood in the center, then surveyed them. "Hmmm..." He carefully started arranging them into the right order. "A perfectly symmetrical circle, now let me see..."

He blinked. "I can read it, its a story in an extremely ancient Japanese dialect. A long time ago, the Shinigami were a prosperous wandering tribe. They had humans and witches as their vassels... wait witches were their vassels?"

"There's more to our enemies than you know, and its in the higher level advanced classes. Take a course in graduate studies when you're old enough and you'll get an explanation. Go on..." Shinigami-sama told him.

"Okay... it says one day a member of the tribe betrayed them and unleashed the four horsemen of the apocalypse. All but a few of the tribe were slain, and only a few of their followers remained. The witches hid the remaining shinigami with magic, while the Head Death, Loki the fifth, what a horrible name by the way, planned their counter attack. They created three weapons to fight the horsemen, who were too powerful to reseal in a direct attack." Kid frowned, turning a bit to read more.

"Loki V created the Elder Wand, also known as the Death Stick, a powerful magical instrument that would rebel in the hands of a witch, but sing in the hands of a Grim Reaper. Forever after as a magical wood, Elder would favor the hands of a reaper over the hands of a bonefied witch. Loki V also created the Cloak of Death, a shroud that would completely hide one from sight, sound, and sense. More complete than even a witch's soul protect, a person hiding beneath it would even be able to hide from the eyes of the Grim Reapers themselves. Finally, Loki V created the Stone of Mediumship, later mistaken for an instrument of ressurection, this stone enabled him to speak with any person who had died, even if their soul had been reincarnated, their memory and image would appear. This meant that the knowledge of his forebears would be able to help him reseal the Horsemen."

"With the knowledge and magic tools in hand, and a scythe of crystal, Loki V removed the heads of the four horsemen and their mounts, then their feet. These were sealed in separate sarcophagi and expelled to the Shrine of Ammet's Stomach. Here the God Anubis, oh dear not him again, wards off intrusion into the shrine so that they may never be released again."

The mirrors began to glow, and when Kid turned them over, a location appeared on one of them. "oh my."

"I think we got a clue, maybe if we go to the place shown on the mirror it will lead us to these items."

"My grandfather's seal was the old mask I used to wear, with two scythes' crossed, but his personal symbol was a bird. He loved the phoenix especially." Shinigami-sama sighed. "Anywho, you all have got to go to class. I suggest you use the Gallows for working on this rather than the library. Don't know who might be sneaking around."

Gwen had to suppress a giggle.

She followed Kid out of the Deathroom, turning to look back at the glowing mirrors. "I think once we go to the first place in the image, the next mirror will show its clue." Kid mused. "It reminds me a lot of a clock, only with eight points instead of twelve."

Maka sighed. "I suppose it can't be helped, still with your OCD I figured you'd probably be uncomfortable with strangers in the house, I mean we just met."

"hey Soul." Kilik pulled his video recorder out of his bag. "Check this out." he pushed play.

"Ooooooh SOUUUULLL!"

"BLACKSTARRRRR!"

"SOUUUULLLL!"

"BLACKSTAAARRRRR!"

"It sounds like the two of you are having SEX!" Kilik howled with laughter.

"Shut up." Soul growled.

"Maka!" Spirit called after them. "I forgot to give you these. Tickets to a concert tonight. The Howling Dragons, they're a rookie band and the lead singer is the daughter of one of my old classmates. I figured you'd want to check them out. They're playing tonight." He handed Maka and Soul, then each of the others in their new little "group" a ticket.

"Not bad, this is the nightclub where I go to perform sometimes, they like to take rookie talent." Soul grinned.

"You perform?" Kilik asked.

"To the right audience, I'm picky about who I'll play for, right Maka?"

"Yeah, Soul's family are all big musicians, but he doesn't like them very much and he didn't want to be one of them."

"Anyway, this new band is staying at Stein's place. So why don't you come by to greet them?" Spirit asked. "Please Maka? This is their first tour, and it would mean a lot to me if you could make them feel welcome here in Death City."

"Okay, ooookaaaay!"

* * *

Gwen left early, quickly finding the rendezvous point with Ichigo, Morgan, Rukia and Renji. The group quickly gave their bodies (Morgan, Gwen and Ichigo) over to Urahara to be cared for and received special modified untracable gigai. It was a disguise. Gwen read her dossier. Amy Selene, Lead singer for the Howling Dragons.

Morgan, Gwen, Ichigo, Rukia and Renji tended to perform at Pernese gathers, or sing kareoke for officer contests. They had some of the best voices. "Byakuya will be playing the part of your manager, Tetsuo Yamada. And Soifon will be your body guard."

Gwen nodded, reading over the dossier. It was very similar to her own history. So this meant it would be easier to keep straight. She memorized it quickly then handed it back to Urahara. "Now you need to walk up the road as a group. Byakuya and Soifon are already in place, they're getting some sleep according to Stein's story, they took a separate flight in the middle of the night."

Morgan sighed, she looked up to Soifon, but the woman was very bristly and hard to get close to. Yoruichi had commented that Morgan acted towards Soifon the way Soifon had to Yoruichi. Being guarded by her however, was always a boring prospect. "Now when you get close, you're going to be walking the rest of the way. You've been rehearsing "We Are" by Ana Johnsson so use that. When your com crystals register Stein's presence in ear shot they'll chirp. You start singing then."

Gwen sighed. "Right, form a line across the road." She told the others. "Ichigo I want you in the middle."

"Not you?"

"You and Rukia are the head honchos of our little group here."

"Gotcha." Ichigo chuckled.

* * *

Maka was waiting and staying as far away from her father as possible. Soul was with her, so were Kid, Liz and Patti. Suddenly Stein lifted his head. "They're here."

A trio of female voices echoed on the hot Nevada afternoon. Their voices were anguished, soulful and determined.

_See the devil on the doorstep now (my oh my)_

_Telling everybody oh just how to live their lives_

_Sliding down the information highway_

_Buying in just like a bunch of fools_

_Time is ticking and we can't go back (my oh my)_

_What about the world today_

_What about the place that we call home_

_We've never been so many_

_And we've never been so alone_

Maka caught sight of the five of them, a boy with this rich, rich reddish brown hair, about ear length and spikey, was in the center of the group, carrying a backpack and a giant sized scroll. A thin, willowy blonde with short hair and pale, ice blue eyes stood to his right, carrying a backpack shaped like a rabbit and she had a rabbit on her t-shirt too. Come to think of it, all the ornaments on her outfit were rabbit like or had rabbit images. And she was cuddling a stuffed toy rabbit to boot. A long haired boy in his late teens with roguish brown eyes and deep mahogany colored hair and a /wild/ expression on his face was dressed in surprisingly hippie like attire and he had tiger stripe shaped tattoos across his face and body. On his forehead was tattooed the Kanji for "Tiger." The reddish brown haired boy turned to look at the bunny loving girl with almost brotherly pride. And then he turned to the other boy, grinning a stupid daredevil grin as the two of them reached for each other's hands and clasped them.

_You keep watching from your picket fence_

_You keep talking but it makes no sense_

_You say we're not responsible_

_But we are, we are_

_You wash your hands and come out clean_

_Fail to recognise the enemies within_

_You say we're not responsible_

_But we are, we are, we are, we are_

The other two girls in the group moved slowly, and deliberately. One of them had a walking stick with her, the end carved like a skeletal dragon with bells hanging from its mouth and tail. She was wearing an aqua blouse, jeans and heavy steel toed workboots. Her hair was long and flaming red and her body tall and slightly on the busty side. She had slitted blue contacts in, or Maka thought they were contacts. The girl lifted her head on the refrain, singing to the sky almost as if she were performing a lament, but with a defiance that Maka had never heard put into music by anyone other than Soul. She was /feral./

Standing next to her was a girl with long, brilliant black hair as shiny as a raven's wing and a dull, depressed look in her soft hazel gray eyes. Maka felt an /intense/ feeling of anguish from this last girl's soul. A weight, intense and powerful.

_One step forward making two steps back (my oh my)_

_Riding piggy on the bad boys back for life_

_Lining up for the grand illusion_

_No answers for no questions asked_

_Lining up for the execution_

_Without knowing why_

That last bit was sung by the black haired girl as she looked over at the red head. The redhead smiled kindly back, just this small sad smile to meet the black haired girl's expression of anguish. The redhead handed over her stick to the black haired girl, who smiled bitterly and leaned on it as they walked.

_You keep watching from your picket fence_

_You keep talking but it makes no sense_

_You say we're not responsible_

_But we are, we are_

_You wash your hands and come out clean_

_Fail to recognise the enemies within_

_You say we're not responsible_

_But we are, we are, we are, we are_

The brown spikey haired boy sang the refrain this time, his back squared resolutely. There was this look in his eyes, some months later Maka would recognize the look in those eyes as Ichigo Kurosaki, the feral soul with the orange hair and the grumpy odd form of charisma.

_It's all about power then_

_Take control_

_Breaking the rule_

_Breaking the soul_

_They suck us dry till there's nothing left_

_My oh my, my oh my_

_What about the world today_

_What about the place that we call home_

_We' ve never been so many_

_And we've never been so alone..._

The rabbit loving girl and the black haired girl locked eyes, as if they agreed with each other, and the black haired girl raised her head and keened the next two words. The merry look in her eyes, someday Maka would know her as Rukia Kuchiki, the adopted daughter of the Kuchiki shinigami clan.

_So alone_

_You keep watching from your picket fence_

_You keep talking but it makes no sense_

_You say we're not responsible_

_But we are, we are_

_You wash your hands and come out clean_

_Fail to recognise the enemies within_

_You say we're not responsible_

_But we are, we are, we are, we are_

_It's all about power then (we are)_

_Take control (we are)_

_Breaking the rule (we are, we are)_

_Breaking the soul (we are)_

_They suck us dry till there's nothing left (we are, we are)_

_My oh my, my oh my_

_We are_

_We are (its all )_

_We are_

_We are, we are (take control)_

_We are_

_We are_

_It's all about power_

_Then take control _

That last bit was with an amazing interplay of harmony between them, as if they could all anticipate each other's moves. The black haired girl and the red head appeared to be completely consumed by the music and the harmony between them. Maka could feel their souls shuddering in the pleasure they derived from the music. Two kindred hearts full of anguish, yet rejoicing in music and comforting each other with their melody. And she felt a... a protectiveness of the other three towards those two.

"Name's Amy." the red head said in a dull, laid back tone. "This is Karana." The black haired, doleful girl. "Thalia." the bunny loving girl. "Usagi." The brown haired boy with the spikey hair. "And Kaguro. We're the Howling Dragons."

She laid eyes on Spirit. "And I remember /you/ mister Over the Hill Pervert Scythe. I'd hug you but you'd probably try to cop a feel."

"I... Spirit loves Maka and Mama." Spirit whimpered.

"I heard ya got whipped, first by a vengeful wife, and then by a teeny weeny dwarf of a Kisshin's egg with wiggly pointed ears like an elf." Gwen chastized. "You'd better not expect us to do your dirty work for you Over the Hill Scythe. You may have been friends and flings with my father but..."

"Wait, father as in a boy?" Maka rounded on Spirit. "YOU CHEATED WITH MEN TOO?"

"No no no no no." Amy aka Gwen threw her head back and laughed a belly laugh. Thalia, aka Rukia covered her mouth to hide her giggling. Ichigo in his guise of Usagi rolled his eyes and muttered something about his own dingbat dad and a poster. Renji aka Kaguro snickered. And Morgan, aka Karana, scowled angrily. "Before he was with your mother sweetie, waaaay back when they were teens. Spirit had a raging crush on my father, but when he married your mother, /my/ father insisted he wasn't going to enable Spirit's bad habits and booted him out of their sometimes bed."

"Yeah well." Spirit gulped under Maka's withering glare. "WHAT? I bat for both teams, whats your problem?" Maka pulled a book out of her school bag, brandishing it at him as he cringed.

Soul looked over at Morgan as she slumped again. Gwen had taken a similar posture. "Sup with you two?"

"Lack of sleep." Gwen replied. "Nightmares on my part. Karana?"

"A soul older than its body, aged by trauma and feeling the burden of the world, often scoffs at the world's ways, and its nightmares are the fallacies and hypocrasies of a world long since gone mad." Morgan replied dully. "I haven't been sleeping well, nightmares about a fox."

"Karana is the doleful sort, you'd think she'd be dressing emo but she seems to prefer denim and leather."

"Heh, Emo clothes for girls are too fragile. The beating I put them through I'd destroy them." Morgan replied. "I may not be a meister, but I'm a helluva good shot, and a dab hand with a hammer and nails." She chuckled.

"Cool, Soul here is a musician too so I figured I'd bring him along, and then Kid is Shinigami-sama's son."

"Shinigami-sama huh, well we're pretty big fans of him, right ladies?" Gwen asked. "Hell, we even use animal skull masks in our stage costumes."

"Why not use regular skull masks, there's plenty of them in costume stores."

"out of respect." Gwen chuckled. "Bah, so unlike my little sister back home." she sighed as she peered at Kid.

"So wait, does your father's wife allow papa to sleep with him?" Maka asked suspiciously.

"She's dead, suicided." Gwen said coldly. "Please try not to bring it up."

"Oh." Maka was taken aback by the sudden change in tone. "Alright." She smiled softly.

Gwen sighed, smiling sadly down at Maka. "you're lucky both your parents are still among the living. My sister was a baby when momma went."

Spirit gently touseled Gwen's hair. "Stop that."

"Stop what?"

"You treat me and Karana like surrogate daughters whenever you come crash on papa's house because your /real/ wife and daughter rejected you. Why not solve the issues you have with your daughter instead of doting on us." She crossed her arms over her chest irritably and glaring at Spirit. "Over the Hill Scythe."

"Why do you call me that?" Spirit slumped.

"Because I've only met two men more perverted than you. Miroku's only excuse is that he has a fatal curse. Master Roshi has none and he's an old geezer."

"Thats not fair! Roshi is da man!" Spirit whined. "You should see his skin mag collection."

"MAKAAAAA CHOP!" Maka bashed spirit in the head with webster's dictionary, smiling evilly. "Pervert."

Gwen whispered in her ear. "Karana and I call him "pervert scythe" sometimes."

Maka rolled her eyes. "So what has he done behind me and mama's back?"

"Uh well, he'd come to my father's place crying about how cold you two were and how scared of his ex wife he was." Gwen sighed in disgust. "I told him if he doesn't go home and talk it out, then any issues he has with his family are entirely his fault."

Maka smirked in approval. "He keeps trying to woo women, and you mentioned a Miroku and a Roshi..."

"Miroku is happily committed, but before that, he used to propose to /every/ woman he met that she have his child. But being cursed by a demon with the possibility of death at any moment will do that to someone. As for Roshi, his only excuse is that he's old. In fact, I actually searched his bedroom for viagra, found none. He's just like that. The proverbial foxy grandpa. Lets see, other perverted men I've met. Ummm, well Brock is a finicky pervert, and he has a mister mom instinct thats an awesome redeeming quality." She frowns. "I've met quite a few that weren't sexually perverted but had raunchy senses of humor. I think its the Y chromasome." She frowned. "Then there's Tony who enjoys putting other men down, and hitting on anything pretty and blonde." Far away, one Agent Dinozzo sneezed. "Funny thing, all the perverted types I've met were all too afraid of me to do anything."

They laughed.

Morgan smiled at Maka. "You're pretty, sharp tempered, and appearantly you love books too, is there anything else that makes you interesting?"

"Are you kidding? Maka's the coolest partner ever!" Soul grinned. "I can't wait to see your concert tonight, what kind of music do you do?"

"eeeh, a little rock, a little techno, a lot of jpop." Morgan beamed. "We do a lot of Rise against and skillet covers."

"Rise against huh?" Kid suddenly turned frosty, arching an eyebrow. He /had/ the album that that song written on his father's wall was from, he knew exactly where the quotes had come from.

"Yeah, you're a fan of them?"

"yes. Them and skillet." Kid replied cooly. "I don't mind emo rock if its good. I /hate/ metal."

Morgan laughed. "Only metal I've ever been able to tolerate is Disturbed."

"I hate them." Kid growled. "So disorderly."

Gwen chuckled. "I try to select music that will stir the soul, music that one can fight to. I may not be a Meister, but I've been in my share of brawls and I can control my wavelength. I'm not a pushover."

"Okay then, there's a big enough field in Stein's yard, I want to see you fight." Kid smirked.

"fine." Sighed Gwen.

They walked up into Stein's yard, and Gwen set down her bag. She was very good at fighting in a gigai, being mortal herself. She took her stance, a loose, low slung, wide footed stance. "Disgustingly lopsided." Kid took a stiff stance.

"And your stance looks like a constipated ballet dancer. " Gwen snapped. "Lets see what you do with it, because it looks like someone rammed a stick up your stripey ass."

"DONT MENTION THE STRIPES!" Kid yelled, charging her.

Gwen caught his blow and used it as leverage to send Kid flying back. "Basic rule of combat, if your opponent is choloric of temper, seek to agitate him. Once his anger overrules his reason you have an opening to take advantage."

Kid launched into a flying drop kick. "Just don't mention the STRIPES!"

"Or what?" Gwen smirked, she caught his feet in her hand and gripped the ankle, putting pressure on the achilles heel. Kid flailed, snatching at her feet to try and send her off balance. Too late, he found himself flung again. "Your stance is far too rigid, a tree that cannot bend with the wind falls over."

Kid seemed to focus on kicking moves, the next one was a low sweep. "Use your hands, you aren't carrying your weapon partners, there is no need to refrain from using your fists." She brought her knee up into Kid's chest, then brought her double fists down on his back. Far too many gatekeepers copied this slam from Vegeta. But it was very, very effective.

Kid wheezed and stumbled away from her blow, wiping the blood of a split lip on a kerchief he'd kept up his sleeve. "Try using that Kerchief for an improvised weapon." Gwen said suddenly.

"WHAT?" Kid demanded, shocked.

"Inmates can use almost any item as a weapon, even a toothbrush or a shoelace, a kerchief should be easy if you are swift and stealthy."

"no way, its got blood on it."

"So?"

"I don't like touching things with blood on them."

"Its only /your/ blood." Gwen pointed out. "You can't do it can you? Hemophobic?"

Kid refused to look at her. "Fine, but if this were a real fight and you didn't have your weapons, you'd have to improvise with whatever you had or die." She said cooly. "You're the heir to shinigami-sama, your /survival/ has priority over your fear." She glared at him coldly.

Kid seemed to wither under her glare, /clearly his OCD is a barrier./ "Its your move." Gwen's wavelength gave off a soft pulse of disappointment. Kid charged and brought his elbow up into it. She caught him bare handed, her feet skidding behind her from the force of his blow. She did a backflip, which caused him to dodge backwards, then leapt upwards in a Heavyarms style kick, silently thanking Trowa for their hours spent practicing when Aizen attacked his world. Kid dodged. "Why do you dodge?" she asked him. "Tactics or cowardice?"

"Excuse me?"

"Back home there's a bunch of blustering sword swinging men who would be booing the both of us for dodging. Its a natural reflex, something comes for your face and you duck. But if you can conquer that flight instinct, and block instead, you can counter attack instead of simply running." Gwen said calmly.

Kid understood, "Amy" was simply pointing out that blocking was more advantageous.

"Blocking is also intimidating if you're up against an amateur." Gwen added. "Think about it, buncha undisciplined thugs come at you and you catch their blows and fling them instead? You can often scare them off without using too much force. Simply because the block is a sign of you having more bluster, more determination." Gwen turned into a capoeira kick, yet another person she'd met on her travels, Ryuuzaki would love investigating this peculiar world with its smiling sun and laughing moon.

"you look almost bored. I hope I'm not dull."

"no, but i'm trying to show you the advantage of a loose stance. Flow like water, rather than standing like stone. Bend like a sapling, don't be rigid like an oak. Keep moving, keep charging, plunge heedlessly from the cliff and trust in your wings to carry you." Gwen charged headlong this time, leaping into the air and executing Major's signature drop kick.

BABOOM! The ground cratered under Kid's feet as he blocked the blow. "Be as the water, or the flame, not like the stone or the cloud. The cloud is too thin, too brittle and fickle. But water and flame, they are a fighter's elements. I can put a candle out with the wind of a machete."

The two circled, Kid skirting the crater he'd made.

"So Maka, that girl has special protections on her soul, can you see them?" Stein puffed out smoke from his cigarette.

Maka frowned. "Yes, I do, her soul's identifying features are covered up."

"Yes, but you can still feel her mood right?" Stein asked her.

"yes, she's calm and centered, and I feel... joy... fighting is fun for her?"

"Amy's entire band are skilled in some form of combat. Karana and Thalia are ranged specialists, they focus on manipulating their spirit energy. Usagi is a swordsman, but he's got a kick that some Meisters would envy. Kaguro is a brawler and a bit of a thug. And Amy is... well she's kind of a balenced fighter, but make no mistake, a superspeed technique like the one Kid can use? She can see every step. Her wavelength is so powerful that it /has/ to be restrained at all times and for her, fighting is a joyful activity in which hearts meet with each other and express themselves through motion."

Their fighting began to speed up, but Kid was getting winded. Gwen could tell. "I can't believe the force you can bring to bear." Kid panted.

Gwen laughed. "You're not so bad yourself. Death city is in good hands, but its clear you have a long way to go. I still aesthetically find your stance abominable."

"Ditto." Kid grunted. "So Asymmetrical."

"OOOOH, Asymmetriphobia! THATS IT!" Gwen squealed. "Thats why you hated my stance so much and didn't like me mentioning the stripes!"

"heh." Soul chuckled, yawning slightly. "So Maka, if you want to primp for the concert we'd better go."

"Yes, I want to check the mansion one more time before I go." Kid waved over his shoulder. "Nice sparring with you." Gwen could see that the sweat on his face had already dried and his complexion was back to normal. She chuckled.

Kid's mind was extremely agitated, that girl's strength wasn't normal even for a human. It reminded him of a seasoned meister, hell it reminded him of his own. "It was so odd." he said quietly as he looked at his hands.

"Kid?" Liz asked. "What's wrong?"

"It felt like I wasn't fighting a strong human, it felt like I was fighting another shinigami, older than me, but far younger than father." Kid frowned. "I'm... probably being paranoid after last night."

"Yeah, probably right."

* * *

1. He's singing the Japanese version of "this is halloween" from the nightmare before christmas. You can recognize it by the "Kore ga halloween" Kore ga means "this is" and by the references to Jack oh and the "Halloween town, kono machi wa."


	2. Chapter 2

Gwen had fallen asleep under a tree in Stein's yard. She had amazingly vivid dreams on his world for some reason.

She was flying high above the smoking ruin that was once Jubilife city, the city that was meant to celebrate the joyful things in life. She'd changed into her shapeshifted form, an enormous sapphire dragon. Gwen threw her head back in a death knell, then snarled, bending down to rip the head off of a hollow in her massive dragon jaws. Around her dragon type pokemon whirled and flew, roaring and screeching. Gwen roared her defiance of the thousands of hollows she and the other shinigami sent to respond to the attack were up against.

"WHEEL AND TURN OR BLEED AND BURN!" Gwen exhorted the pokemon circling around her in the air. "FLY BETWEEN BLUE AND GREEN! SOAR DIVE DOWN BRONZE AND BROWN! WE ARE... WE ARE SHINIGAMI! OUR WILL IS TO PROTECT!"

"OUR WILL IS TO PROTECT!" Gwen bellowed as she sat up.

Morgan in her guise of Karana and Patti, who had come back for some reason, turned their heads in the yard. "You're awake Amy..."

"Sorry, nightmare... a defiant nightmare but a nightmare nonetheless." Gwen smiled wanely.

"Any sign of it Patti?" Liz came around the other side of the lab building. "Kid is beside himself inside."

"Over what?" Amy yawned.

"You were muttering in your sleep!" Patti giggled at Gwen, "It was funny!"

"What did I say?"

"Wheel and turn or bleed and burn! It sounded like something a witch would say."

"funny, there was a witch in that nightmare." Gwen yawned. "But then again, if half the things I've heard about them are true I'd probably be freaked out while awake." Gwen was exhausted.

"Spirit-san is making tea inside." Morgan told Liz. "Don't worry, your Meister won't be missing his tie clip for very long."

"He's freaked out about a tie clip?"

"You have nightmares about witches?" Liz queried with an arched eyebrow.

"Doesn't everyone who's ever contemplated meeting one?" Gwen asked.

"True." Liz sighed. "They tend to be freaky in a weird, gross, sadistic way." She got down on the ground and started looking for Kid's tie clip again.

Gwen sighed. "I'll be right back." She opened the door to the lab. "Hey Stein?" Kid was wringing his hands. "Oh don't feed him black tea Spirit for heavens sake, the poor boy looks like he's going to break down crying. Get him some chamomile!" Gwen scolded the Deathscythe. "C'mon Over the Hill Scythe, honestly, do I have to be the brains for us both? You're a deathscythe for fuck's sake and you don't know how to deal with someone who's clearly on the verge of a panic attack. Go. Shoo!" she intercepted the beaker of black tea that Spirit had meant for Kid. "This won't help you in /that/ state, but it will help me wake up. This dratted Nevada heat makes me want to sleep in the midday." She gulped it down. "Concert starts at 9 and goes to midnight." She added. "Got to be awake for that." She finished the beaker of tea in about one minute, covered her mouth in her sleeve to hide the belch, and sighed. "So..."

"You act like you're older than you look." Kid said with an arched brow. "And drinking it that fast reminded me of a viking."

Gwen glared at Kid. "Just because I don't act the way I look doesn't mean I'm as old as I act." Then to Stein. "Shtein Hakase, do you have a metal detector?"

"Yes, why?"

"Kid-san lost his tie clip, it wouldn't do for the son of Lord Death to be in such distress. And I need some work to wake myself up. If you don't mind."

"Of course." Stein stood and chuckled to Kid. "Remind me to teach you about old souls sometime."

"Old souls?" He asked.

Stein handed Gwen the metal detector. "Old souls, sometimes a person is born with an inkling, a connection to past lives. I think Soul might be one, but its only speculation, you can't tell until someone dies and even then you'd have to go to the trouble of catching their soul for analysis before someone crosses it over or a kisshin's egg eats it."

Kid nodded. "Its unfortunate, too many of the dead are eaten before we can get to them."

"Yes, it is." Stein sighed, puffing out a smoke ring from his cigarette. "They say these souls are often tinted indigo. But not always."

"Actually the indigo is not indicative of an old soul." Gwen corrected as she checked over the detector for wear and tear. "Thats an entirely different phenomena, indigo and crystal children have indigo and crystal colored souls, and its indicative of personality traits, rather than connection to a past life. Indigos tend to be unusually creative and bold, crystals tend to be unusually shy and often need the help of others, but when they blossom its supposed to be a miraculous transformation into something graceful." Gwen sighed. "But its just a superstition."

Gwen wandered out of the lab. Liz and Patti looked at her. "Amy-chan, what is that?" Patti asked, running over to look at the instrument.

"Its a metal detector. I'm gonna run it over the battlesite to see if I can find your Meister's tie clip." Gwen chuckled, a small kind smile "Don't worry, I'm the one he was sparring with so I might as well try to fix it."

Liz snorted, rolling her eyes.

Gwen sighed and started moving the metal detector over the ground. "Mind you, I just know how to turn it on, we could find anything."

"Like buried treasure?" Patti asked hopefully.

"Uh... Patti lets just settle for Kid's tie clip. If we don't find it he'll whine and whimper about how much of a failure he is." Liz groaned.

"The son of Shinigami-sama has so little confidence?" Bwwwooop beep boop went the metal detector in Gwen's hands.

"He doesn't lack confidence, he can be swaggeringly arrogant." Liz sighed. "Kid's problem is that he has OCD. He likes things to be symmetrical but he also expects far too much of himself in my opinion. I've never seen him without that tie clip on."

"I see." Gwen sighed. "I have a friend back home, he has it too." She said quietly. "His number is 10, what's Kid's?"

"Eight!" Patti chimed happily.

Gwen just had this small warm smile on her face. "Amy-chan?" Patti pounced. "Try the crator! You should teach me how to make crators! I want to make bad guys go boom with my feet!"

Gwen burst out laughing as she moved towards the crator. "Patti, it takes years of training without a weapon to be able to do that, that means no using your sister, and no help from Kid." She chuckled. "And a lot of discipline. Do you think you can do it?"

"Don't egg her on." Liz sighed.

"I CAN DO IT!" Patti's face glowed with the force of her grin. "I'm Kiddo-kun's partner! I'm supposed to have his back! I wanna learn how to kick like you!" Patti fastened herself to Gwen's leg. "Please Amy-chan, please please?"

"Patti, saying it takes years of training was her way of saying no." Liz pulled Patti off her. Gwen stumbled, and the metal detector went wide only to make a loud noise when it swayed over a part of the crater. Gwen peered in, waving the metal detector over it a second time with the same result.

"hmmm..." She frowned, looking over at Liz and Patti. "I need a flashlight, will you get my backpack from the tree over there?"

"Sure." Patti ran over and came back with the bag. Gwen unzipped a pouch on the side and pulled out a large maglite flashlight. She spun it in her fingers like a sharpshooter with a pistol for a moment before flicking it on and hopping down into the crater she'd made. "tsk, don't know my own strength."

Patti followed. "zooooooooooooooom!" She took a flying leap down to the bottom. Liz slid down after her, a bit more cautious.

Gwen shined the maglite into a crack. Something silver gleamed back. Gwen shoved her hand down the crack and felt around. "Hmmmm..."

When she pulled her arm out her sleeve was torn and her hand was scraped up. Gwen sighed holding up the object. There it was. Kid's skull shaped tie clip.

Patti squealed in delight, dragging Gwen by the arm back into the lab. "SHE FOUND IT SHE FOUND IT KIDDO-KUN AMY-CHAN FOUND YOUR TIE CLIP!"

Gwen's eyes curlicue'd. "MY ARM PATTI PLEASE IT GOT SCRAPED!" She wailed in shock at being dragged. Her left arm, her WEAK arm. The arm she always hated. The arm that on her normal body was cybernetic.

Gwen fell in a heap at Kid's feet, her injured arm holding up the tie clip and she grinned hugely up at him. "Kid-san, I found it."

"SHE FOUND IT!" Patti yelled in joy at the top of her lungs. Patti jumped on Gwen and sent her falling to the ground, giggling and laughing as she pinned Gwen playfully. Gwen coughed, then squeaked, mumbling a feeble 'geroff me.'

Kid snatched the pin from Gwen's hand, causing her to yelp in pain from her skinned arm.

Kid blinked and Gwen pulled herself up. "You're hurt."

"Just a scratch, my left arm is sensitive." Gwen said shyly. She pulled her arm behind her back.

Kid chuckled. "You made yourself asymmetrical trying to help me. Thanks." he grumbled, not looking at her.

"No problem. As I said, its just a scratch."

Patti jumped on Gwen again and she fell over in a heap. /Dratted gigai./ Gwen thought. /My arm is downstairs with the rest of my body but I'm still uncomfortable with people touching it./ "Patti careful you'll squish her" Liz pried Patti off, who was so happy she was cheek rubbing between Gwen's shoulder blades.

"Patti please mercy." Gwen squeaked, a huge blush on her cheeks.

"Aww, but from Kid that was an expression of great gratitude! He's just too shy to admit it." Patti beamed from where she clung to Gwen with an iron hard grip. "to Kiddo-kun there are two great sacrifices a person can make! Their lives and their Symmetry!"

Gwen's mental grumble sent a soft ripple of her soul wavelength through the room, carrying a discontented growl with it. "Patti do me a favor, never, never, NEVER grab me by my left arm. Please. I don't like that arm being grabbed." She pried the blonde off herself and turned, storming up the stairs to the second floor of Stein's Lab.

Patti pouted. Gwen curled up behind the closed door of the room the girls were staying in. "Amy-chan?" Patti looked after her.

"Patti we'll see her later. I want Kid to get his routines done while we primp for the concert that way we aren't late." Liz told her sister.

* * *

Gwen tuned the guitar, her hands dancing over the keys as she and her "band" began to play. Rangiku was hiding in her superhero disguise and a bakudo 26 in the club, back up in case something went wrong. "So Death City, are we ready to rock?"

"YEAAAAAAH!" The crowd roared.

Gwen looked over at Morgan and Ichigo on one side. Then Renji on the drums. Rukia had the keyboard behind them. "right, we're the Howling Dragons. And our motto is..." A few stirring chords. "Music to move the Soul!"

She started up rise against, "Collapse; Post Amerika" Gwen knew how to shred. She and Morgan played their guitars in tandem. Renji was pretty bad with a guitar, but he could drum very well. And as Gwen and Morgan wove their voices together and Ichigo joined in, her soul wavelength swelled with the thrill of music.

"We'll knooooooow, this is not a test, ooooh nooooo, this is cardiac arrest, of a world too proud to admit our mistakes, crashing into the ground as we all... all fall from grace!"

A tall blonde figure in a priest's uniform entered the audience, standing at the back, Spirit stood with him, a huge grin on his face. She could smell Stein's cigarette smoke coming from backstage. Satilite, worth dying for, the group tore through the next two songs and when they paused for a breath Gwen grinned. "So... this next song... I'm gonna give the vocals over to Usagi here, the next couple are better for male voices. Of course they're in Japanese but the english words are on that screen and the japanese ones on that one on the other side so..."

Gwen started up the intro for "Tattoos on the sky" and Ichigo raised his voice in stirring tones.

_"If I do not wield the sword it is_

_Impossible to protect you_

_ah even though all our eyes are open_

_We're dreaming of flying through the sky._

_Wowowo_

_Those who are living and those who died_

_The DEKA of sadness even is the same_

_There is no reason; I don't want to see your tears_

_My soul calls tattoos on the sky_

_If I keep wielding the sword it is_

_Impossible to embrace you_

_Even if you can reach the moon and mars alike_

_You cannot reach the truth ya_

_Wowowo_

_There is no justice or having the upper hand_

_Even in you there's unknown power_

_There is no reason; I only want to protect you_

_My body howls Tattoos on the sky,_

_Tattoos on the sky_

_Tattoos on the sky_

_Wowowo_

_There is no justice or having the upper hand_

_Even in you there's unknown power_

_There is no reason; I only want to protect you_

_My body howls Tattoos on the sky_

_Tattoos on the Sky_

_Tattoos on the skyyyyyyyyyyy!"_

Gwen finished her guitar piece with a flourish. "Kaguro..." She grinned. "Why don't you sing /your/ song now? After all, it was written for /you./" Gwen's expression was smug, drunk on the glory of the guitar.

Renji grinned, and when Gwen struck up the tune he sang in a deep tenor voice that made a /lot/ of girls swoon, Standing to Defend You. That was fun, and Gwen grinned. "The way we roll is, every concert each of us gets to pick at least one song to sing solo. So lets see, Kaguro and Usagi have both gone." She looked over at Morgan. "Karana, its your turn."

"I want you to sing it with me, after all its /our/ song."

"I'll do a fast version later if the audience is so inclined. Right guys?" She looked out over the crowd.

Expectant grins and a couple of calls of ascent.

Morgan hesitated, shyly stepping up to the microphone. Renji struck a bell hung by his drum a few times, and Morgan began to play, Gwen joined in on her guitar. Morgan's voice was slow, sad...

_"You can't quit until you try_

_You can't live until you die_

_You can't learn to tell the truth_

_Until you learn to lie_

_You can't breathe until you choke,_

_got to laugh when you're the joke_

_There's nothing like a funeral to make you_

_FEEEL ALIIIIIVVVEEE."_

Maka was entranced, she could feel the emotion on Morgan's soul wavelength. /Karana-chan, she's... its as if she feels every word of it with a hundred percent of her soul. There's anguish, anger, joy, pain, love... all of it wrapped up into one roiling package./

Morgan's beautiful contralto voice handled the notes with absolutely no trouble whatsoever.

_"ooooh liiiiiifee, just open your eyes,_

_just open your eyes and see that life is /beauuutiifullll/_

_Will you swear on your life, that no one will cry, at my funeraaaalll."_

Maka leaned on the edge of the stage, looking up at Morgan enrapt. Morgan blinked, looking down at her in surprise, but her voice never faltered once.

Suddenly there was no audience, it was just Maka there at the bottom of the stage. Morgan had this sad, soft smile on the face of her gigai.

_"I know some things that you don't_

_I've done things that you won't_

_There's nothing like a trail of blood_

_To find your way back home_

_I was waiting for my hearse_

_What came next was so much worse_

_It took a funeral to make me feeeel aliiiiiiveee_

_Just open your eyes, just open your eyes,_

_And see that life is /beaaauuutifulll/_

_Will you swear on your life_

_That no one will cry, at my funeral..."_

Morgan's guitar faded out and Gwen's picked up the melody, loud, rowdy, defiant. With a deep breath she squared her shoulders.

Kid slipped into the concert hall, taking a seat with Liz and Patti near the front. Gwen crowed, her wavelength thundering a defiant thrill of joy through the hall and the crowd. Kid shuddered and Patti got that trademark huge grin of hers.

_"You can't quit until you try_

_You can't live until you die_

_You can't learn to tell the truth_

_Until you learn to lie_

_You can't breathe until you choke_

_Got to laugh when you're the joke_

_There's nothing like a funeral_

_To make, you FEEEEL alive."_

On the chorus, Gwen looked Kid right square in the eyes, bending in and smirking at him. She was /goading/ the young shinigami, challenging him.

_"Just open your eyes, just open your eyes_

_And see that life is /BEAUTIFULL!/_

_Will you swear on your life_

_That no one will cry, at my FUNERAAALLLLLLL!"_

On "Funeral" Gwen threw her head back, the word a roar of defiance to the skies above the concert hall.

Then the moment was over, Gwen moved on, her guitar's notes melding with Morgan's.

_"I know some things that you don't,_

_I've done things that you won't_

_There's nothing like a trail of blood_

_To find your way back home."_

There was just this soft hint of nostalgia in her tone, her wavelength giving off just this sweet, sad feeling. Kid knew it, this was a woman who had had a brush with dying herself.

_"I was waiting for my hearse,_

_What came next was so much worse_

_It took a funeral, to MAKE ME FEEL ALIVE!"_ Gwen roared.

She gestured for the crowd to join in on the refrain, and a few in the crowd did. Patti had a surprisingly good voice, and she heard a yell of "Yahoo!" from the back before Blackstar joined in. Gwen stomped her foot, Spirit joined in, and before long the concert hall was stomping in time with her melody.

_"Just open your eyes, just open your eyes_

_And see that life is beautiful,_

_Will you swear on your life,_

_That no one will cry, at my /FUNERALLLL!/"_

And then Gwen began to shred, a guitar solo that blazed as brightly as her soul. On the final refrain, Morgan joined in, and so did the entire hall, stomping or clapping in time with the music. Maka was just plain entranced. The joy that came off of Gwen and Morgan's wavelengths as they sang had swept her up.

_"Just open your eyes, just open your eyes_

_And see that life is beautiful,_

_Will you swear on your life,_

_That no one will cry, at my /FUNERALLLL!/"_

The song died away abruptly. There was dead silence in the hall. Then thunderous applause. Then they started up the skillet covers. Rukia sang "Comatose" very well, and then Gwen and Morgan did a duet, "Whispers in the Dark" and "Awake and Alive." Gwen dedicated those two songs to "My sweetheart back home. I love you honey, I'll come home soon." Ichigo struck up one of the songs from Gwen's world, written about him for the Bleach character albums "My blade is my pride." Then Morgan doing Skillet again with, "Eating me away." Ichigo and Renji sang a duet for "Help is on the way" by Rise against.

Gwen could feel the reiatsu of the crowd rising, thrilling as one with them as Ichigo began to sing. Satilite, by rise against.

_You can't feel the heat until you hold your hand over the flame_  
_You have to cross the line just to remember where it lays_  
_You won't know your worth now, son, until you take a hit_  
_And you won't find the beat until you lose yourself in it_

_That's why we won't back down_  
_We won't run and hide_  
_Yeah, 'cause these are the things that we can't deny_  
_I'm passing over you like a satellite_  
_So catch me if I fall_  
_That's why we stick to your game plans and party lines_  
_But at night we're conspiring by candlelight_  
_We are the orphans of the American dream_  
_So shine your light on me_

And then Morgan joined in, smiling at Ichigo.

_You can't fill your cup until you empty all it has_  
_You can't understand what lays ahead_  
_If you don't understand the past_  
_You'll never learn to fly now_  
_'Til you're standing at the cliff_  
_And you can't truly love until you've given up on it_

_That's why we won't back down_  
_We won't run and hide_  
_Yeah, 'cause these are the things that we can't deny_  
_I'm passing over you like a satellite_  
_So catch me if I fall_  
_That's why we stick to your game plans and party lives_  
_But at night we're conspiring by candlelight_  
_We are the orphans of the American dream_  
_So shine your light on me_

And together they began in earnest.

_She told me that she never could face the world again_  
_So I offered up a plan_

_We'll sneak out while they sleep_  
_And sail off in the night._  
_We'll come clean and start over the rest of our lives._  
_When we're gone we'll stay gone._  
_Out of sight, out of mind._  
_It's not too late,_  
_We have the rest of our lives._

_We'll sneak out while they sleep_  
_And sail off in the night_  
_We'll come clean and start over the rest of our lives_  
_When we're gone we'll stay gone._  
_Out of sight, out of mind._  
_It's not too late,_  
_We have the rest of our lives._  
_The rest of our lives_

Patti was jumping up and down, and then Kid yelped as she grabbed him by the arms and pulled him from his seat onto the dancefloor, swinging him around in a happy dance. "PATTI, wait PATTIIII!"

"C'mon Kiddo-kun! This is a concert! We should be ROCKING!"

_Because we won't back down_  
_We won't run and hide_  
_Yeah, 'cause these are the things that we can't deny_  
_I'm passing over you like a satellite_  
_So catch me if I fall_  
_That's why we stick to your game plans and party lives_  
_But at night we're conspiring by candlelight_  
_We are the orphans of the American dream_  
_So shine your light on me (shine your light on me)_

_Because we won't back down_  
_We won't run and hide_  
_Yeah, 'cause these are the things that we can't deny_  
_I'm passing over you like a satellite_  
_'cause these are the things that we can't deny now_  
_This is a life that you can't deny us now_

On and on into the night they rocked, Gwen, Morgan, Renji, Ichigo and Rukia taking turns playing, Rise against; Long forgotten sons, Under the Knife, Entertainment, Injection, Saosin; Collapse, Skillet; The last night, Savior, Hero, Feel like a Monster Utada Hikaru; Simple and Clean (Morgan danced for that one, singing and utterly captivating the crowd, male and female alike), Sanctuary, Yui; Rolling star (Gwen had to sing that one.)

At midnight, Gwen sighed. "I hate to end this, but you know, I did promise my manager I'd end the ruckus at midnight." she chuckled. "I figured I'd end with one last fighting song and let you be away."

There was some awwwws of disappointment and noises of anticipation.

Gwen began to strum, a steady medium fast beat. "See... we don't just want to be a fad, we want to be a Phenomenon."

_"If you're like us, calling all riders, roll up beside us, no place to hide us,_

_all freedom fighters, let's unite us, switch on your nitrous and...let's.. go..._

_Destination, for navigation, man up ya stations, feel the sensation surround invasion,_

_with communication, move quick, we might avoid contamination."_

Ichigo jumped in with Gwen, his alto tenor voice joining in. Renji was about two lines behind him in jumping in.

_"Down, Here comes the sound, everyone pound your feet to this Phenomenon, Now let's make it_

_loud, let's show 'em all how you move to this phenomenon, Roll! Open your soul, maybe lose_

_control inside of this phenomenon, just let your self go, and let everyone know you move to_

_this phenomenon."_

Morgan raised her voice in a beautiful, songbird like harmony with Ichigo and Renji's deeper tones and Gwen's alto. And behind her, Rukia joined in with her soprano. The five singers wove their tones around each other. Soul grinned at their harmony, clearly they were well practiced.

_"Don't let these spiders crawl up beside us, they want to bite us, inject the virus. Raise up_

_the lighters, praise to the righteous, we need to guide us, get...prepared..to.. go..if you're_

_like us, calling all riders, roll up beside is, no place to hide us, all freedom fighters,_

_let's unite us, switch on your nitrous..and.. lets..go.."_

Gwen began to stomp and motioned for the crowd to join in on the chorus.

_"Down, Here comes the sound, everyone pound your feet to this Phenomenon, Now let's make it_

_loud, let's show 'em all how you move to this phenomenon, roll! Open your soul, maybe lose_

_control inside of this phenomenon, just let your self go, and let everyone know you move to_

_this phenomenon."_

Ichigo and Renji alternated lines on the next verse, Ichigo thrust his fist in the air on "LETS GO!"

_"Can't take it anymore, shake until we move the floor, what are we waiting for? Let's go! I'm_

_tired of being ordinary, don't care if there's people staring, I'll rely on your strength to_

_carry me on. I'm not invisible like you, next time things get a little messed up, I'll shine,_

_but I'll never be see through. I'm fine just tryin to wake the rest up._

_Down, Here comes the sound, everyone pound your feet to this Phenomenon, Now let's make it_

_loud, let's show 'em all how you move to this phenomenon, roll! Open your soul, maybe lose_

_control inside of this phenomenon, just let your self go, and let everyone know you move to_

_this phenomenon."_

They came to a sudden stop, bowing before thunderous applause. The curtains fell. As soon as Gwen got to the green room Rangiku broke cover and squealed. "OH MY GOODNESS! YOU WERE ALL AMAZING! OOOOH RUKIA I DIDNT KNOW YOU HAD THAT KIND OF MUSIC IN YOU."

"Ah, I don't have a golden throat like Morgan's." Rukia blushed. "But I did my best. I liked it."

"i'm gonna get some air after that and some tea before I go back and get to bed." Gwen yawned.

She smiled drowsily, looking up at the laughing moon, which was so /alien/ to Gwen, walking down the street. "What a glorious thing creation is." She mused. "A moon with a face like a person, and a sun with the same. How unique. I wonder if the stars have faces too."

"Dunno." A voice came from behind her. It was Kid. "Your arm looks better."

"Concealer." Gwen said dismissively. "I just look up at the night sky, the vastness of it all. You know, look in one direction and you have billions of stars with billions of planets and some of them might have life. I wonder what shinigami are like out there in the cosmos."

"Speculating about aliens huh. Well they probably don't call themselves by that name."

"True, no guarantee they use scythes either, even though a blade is a useful tool for cutting and combat, and a long pole would give them better reach, there are multiple ways of achieving the same end with the same two components." Gwen sighed dully.

"What's wrong?" Kid asked.

"Tired."

"The way you sang, it felt like you put your soul into every note."

"I did indeed. Its easier for me to express myself with music than with words. Karana's the same way. Of our little group, the other three sometimes act like the protective older siblings. Add in Thalia's older brother Tetsuo and you have well... an odd mix."

"Your manager."

"Yeah. We're a Nakama affair, thats how we roll."

"What's Nakama mean?"

"Nakama are people who aren't always related to you by blood, but who are still your family because they feel like family in your heart. Liz and Patti are your Nakama right?"

"I suppose." Kid sighed. "I never thought about it that way."

Gwen chuckled, then yawned. "i'm tired Kid, I just needed some fresh air."

"Wait..." Kid ran after her... "Are you..."

"Am I what?"

"Forget it." Kid scuffed the dirt with his toe.

Gwen's internal growl caused Seiryuu to stir. Gwen could see him in her inner world, coiled around a sleeping Saeyamaru. "Good, then I'm getting some alone time. If you have something constructive to ask me, then ask, if not, get lost so that I can think for a bit." Gwen snapped, striding away.

Kid watched her go, then he took off after her. "Amy..."

"Hmm?"

"Are you a shinigami?"

Gwen rolled her eyes skywards. "You /know/ I'm not. You and your father are the only ones."

"But you knew that old superstition?"

"Thats because I have had a lifelong fascination with myth, legend, and folklore and an exhaustive memory for all three of those." Gwen sighed, getting annoyed.

"But your senses are so honed."

"I was sickly and weak as a child, my left arm was so bad i couldn't even lift a textbook with it. I learned how to fight because I wanted to toughen up. Now I can slam a kisshin's egg's face into a brick wall, and their head through it. Thalia and Usagi have both seen me do it. Now I ask you, if I can shove a demon's head through a wall, do I need to train as a Meister? Because quite honestly, my only needs are to defend my soul from those who would consume it. I have no desire to apply that talent for anything other than self defense or recreation."

Kid sighed. She was on the defensive. He wasn't going to get anything out of her. "Sorry Amy."

"Whatever." Gwen could hear Michael Weston's coaching in her head. _/If someone accuses you of being something, don't break your cover by fessing up. Thats an amateur move. Instead, just play your role harder./_ Gwen's role was the sometimes hostile, emotionally aged, overly joyful Amy Selene, the lead singer for the band "Howling Dragons" and a fighter. She had an image in her head of what the cover should act like. She knew she had to prove she wasn't an /idiot/ when it came to under cover work.

* * *

Shinigami-sama had been watching the concert from the Deathroom, examining the place in the mirror to see if he recognized it. He watched "Amy" walk away and Kid finally letting her go. "Sorry Kid, but I don't think Mirai will reveal herself so easily to you."

* * *

Gwen flopped on the bed back in Stein's lab, curling up on the bunk in the room the girls were sharing. Rukia was on the video phone with Dawn. "So how's your training with Botan?"

"ITS SO HARD! But I'm not gonna give up!" The pokemon coordinator beamed. "No need to worry! Besides, when it really gets busy Keiko-chan makes lunch, and Yusuke really understands a lot of the reasons why I want to learn to fight alongside Piplup."

"Good, you're in great hands with her, and since your world doesn't have much in the way of defenses against spiritual threats, every hand able to fight is important. Your world needs to develop some amount of spiritual sovereignty. Please Dawn, train with the objective of independence. Its important for your world. Though I have to say your attitude on this is surprisingly shinigami like." Rukia chuckled.

"Uhuh, and maybe if we ally with Shibusen I can attend there! I'd learn a lot then wouldn't I?"

"Yeah I'll bet you would, thats what I like about you Dawn. You may get discouraged when something goes wrong, but you pick yourself up and try again every time. And believe me, what you're trying to learn how to do is hard, it took me six years to learn how to fight hollows. But its worth the hard work."

Dawn nodded. "I know." She smiled serenely. "No need to worry."

"No need to worry then." Rukia smiled.

* * *

In her dreams that night, Gwen dreamed of the very event that had put Dawn on the path of the warrior, rather than the path of the coordinator. /My will to protect is my greatest strength, and my failures to protect are my madness./

FLASH! An enormous adjuchas named Goliath had left Twinleaf town a smouldering ruin. Most of the people had run for it, and succeeded in getting away thanks to their pokemon. But Goliath had the deceased pluses of many of the villagers in chains. He was eating them one by one, and his henchmen had Gwen, Dawn and Morgan bound, forcing them to watch. Dawn's mother had gotten her warning and fled, with as many people as would go with her, to Lake Verity to meet the reinforcements from Soul Society. Stein, Akon, Nemu and Washu had helped to evacuate Professor Rowan's lab and take his research with him.

"DEEEEEEDEEEEEEE!" Kenny yelled, struggling against his bonds.

Dawn screamed, suddenly becoming hysterical. "KENNY! YOU BASTARDS LET HIM GO THATS MY FRIEND LET HIM GOOOO!"

Gwen hissed, seethed, screamed angrily. Something ugly was rising inside of her. A shinigami existed to protect souls. Every soul Goliath ate pushed her closer to the edge.

Goliath lifted Kenny by his soul chain. "DEEEE DEEE! TAKE CARE OF MY POKEMON FOR ME! YOU GET STRONGER AND KILL THIS GUY YOU HEAR ME?"

"KENNY!"

"!" Gwen's reiatsu shot through the roof and she roared in outrage. She wasn't just going to kill Goliath, she was going to MUTILATE him before she did!

Goliath opened his massive jaws. He looked right in Dawn's eyes and shoved Kenny's plus right into his mouth.

Gwen's bonds broke. Her reiatsu disintegrated the hollows nearest her. Goliath squeezed, Kenny screamed and yelled encouragement to Dawn. "GET STRONGER DAWN AND SHOW THIS GUY WHAT YOU'RE MADE OF!" He yelled as the last of his soul went down Goliath's gullet.

Dawn screamed hysterically. Gwen ripped any hollow that got near her in half, tearing and crushing masks and sending blasts of razor sharp ice, sharp as Stein's scalpel, at the enemy. Goliath waded towards them, holding the soul of a little girl in his grip as a hostage.

Gwen snatched the girl's soul, stamping Saeyamaru to her forehead to Konso her. She was half in and half out of Dragon form. Sapphire blue chakra, not reiatsu, flowed from her forming into wings and a tail, which burst from her back. Her body became covered in scales, horns came from her head. She changed into a creature, half human, half huge sapphire dragon. And very much resembling the jinchuriki of Naruto's world. But this was no Bijou being cut loose inside her, this was a Dragon God, Seiryuu the Harmonious One of the East. And they were both, so enraged, that the world seemed tinged in the red of anger.

"MOOOOOOOOOOONSTAARRRRR! I'M GONNA MAKE YOU PAY FOR THIS!" Gwen yelled as she sat up, startling Maka, who glared at her.

"MAKAAAA CHOP!" WHACK Gwen ended up being gently whacked with a wooden spoon. "Thats for scaring me."

"G... gomen, I've had a lot of nightmares lately." Gwen blushed slughtly, looking shyly up at the younger girl. "What are you doing here?"

"I needed to get some things from Stein for my extra credit assignment, we're leaving tomorrow to go hunt a Kisshin's egg."

"need a third man?" Gwen asked hopefully. "I can shove his head through a wall and you can decapitate him with Soul. Simple, swift, and effective with a minimum of effort, time and potential for injury."

"Wow... you're brutal."

"I have a bit of a macabre sense of humor. Besides, thats my usual self defense tactic when something tries to eat my soul. Shove their face where they can't pull it out, then bust their neck. I'd run but if I let it live it would just eat something else."

"Common sense." Maka sighed, yawning. "Anyway, I have to get some books for my project." She set down a tray of breakfast. "I made this for you, since Stein can't cook too well."

"Thanks." Eggs, and bacon. Gwen took a great big forkfull and shoved it into her mouth.

Maka left, and Gwen sighed. She went to get her Mirai costume as soon as she sensed the girl's reiatsu retreating. She had some things to do.

"Let me monitor Maka."

"We ALL have to get that monitoring in. You follow Kid today." Gwen told her.

"Settle down children." Stein grinned. "Rangiku, I need you to place the next clue in the library, get on your costume. Remember your alias is "Nekomata."

"HAIIII!" Rangiku beamed. "What section?"

"Mythology. Here's the book you need to find. Tease her, get her attention, heckle her a bit and put the clue in this book. Students don't have to go to class the day before an extracurricular lesson because they're supposed to be researching their current mission assignments." Stein told her. "Maka /always/ researches her own assignments so..."

"As Tachikoma-kun would say, Roger!" Rangiku bustled off happily big bustier wobbling as she went. "ooooh, I'm gonna boob smoosh her! That will be so much fun! I just /know/ she's going to react in a far more interesting way than Taichou!"

"Rangiiiikuuu." Stein growled, cigarette dangling from his mouth as he went.

Gwen giggled. Morgan rolled her eyes. "No wonder Delphine hits that."


	3. Chapter 3

Rangiku crept, invisible into the library at Shibusen. Curious as the cat she was dressed as, she had to resist the urge to stop at the Phasmology section and see if she could find something interesting to learn to take back to Hitsugaya.

"So you're here for the same reason I am it seems." Kid sighed as he and Maka talked over the upcoming mission.

"We're up against a gang, there should be enough for all of us to take home more than one soul for our weapons." Maka sighed. "But Dillinger is a helluva lot smarter than that Capone job that Blackstar botched. He's evaded Shibusen since the great depression, killed the FBI agents that tried to assasinate him, won over the hearts of those he robbed from by making himself seem like Robinhood. Its a difficult target under the best of conditions, and I hate it when the bad guy makes himself look like the innocent party."

"They're demons, they're insane not stupid." Kid drawled. "My father used to tell me stories of the sorts of bizzare things kisshins eggs back in his era would do. They're pretty damned bizzare."

"I know. Its just that... it never, never ceases to amaze me what the enemy will do."

Rangiku crept nearby, turned off the sound shield and let out a loud. "NYAAAAAAAA!" Like a yowling cat. Then turned it off.

Maka jumped up and Rangiku scrambled to the aisle to find the spot. "BLAIRRR?" Maka roared. "if you've followed me to school you're in real big trouble you know that?"

Rangiku giggled as she found the book. She slipped the piece of paper inside just as she heard Maka, Kid and Ox coming around the corner with Havar and Liz. Patti and Soul were busy elsewhere in the library, Patti with the picture books and Soul browsing the sheet music section.

"Folklore? Wouldn't we find Dillinger under history?"

"Its not Dillinger. Morrigan wrote something where she left the mirror. Apocrypha of the Shinigami, Winged Lions and Scythes."

"hmmm..." Ox frowned.

"in Christian mythology, the Apocrypha were the books banned from the bible." Kid mused. "So is this "Apocrypha of the Shinigami" clue telling us that it was something about our people father banned?"

"Dunno."

"Ooooooh, you're so cute!" Rangiku appeared out of nowhere in a cat girl costume, the twin tails of a Nekomata sticking up from it. "But you're ooooofffff." Rangiku giggled. "The Apocrypha were originally banned books, but many modern Christians don't even know what the "Apocrypha" are. Its not that they were banned! Its that what you're looking for is forgotten." Rangiku shoved Maka's face into her cleavage in an abnormally tight boob hug.

Soul rounded the corner. "Maka I'm done with my..." He stared. His face turned red. A tent appeared in his pants.

And then Soul's nose exploded. "SHE'S BIGGER THAN BLAIR!" Thud. Soul had passed out, blood dribbling from his nose.

Maka's face was as red as a tomato. She froze, face hot with a blush. "I'm gonna take you home with meeeee." Rangiku squealed. "I'll get you a pretty little collar and a scratching post! Oh I'm Nekomata by the way. Nyaaaaa." A small ripple of shinigami energy reached Maka, Kid, and Ox's senses. "I love cats! I love mah kitties yes I dooooo. I'm the shinigami who tests the fortitude of young Meisters and weapons!" Rangiku was having a blast being silly, something Hitsugaya always discouraged her from doing. She giggled and let Maka go, Nyaaing much like Blair often did and rubbing her cheek with her paw like a cat grooming herself. "What do you say Meister lady! Will you come home and be my pet? I treat my humans very well!" She pawed at Maka's leg, right up the back of her thigh.

Maka grabbed the nearest book. "MAKAAAAA CHOP! NO WAY IN HELL! YOU EMBARASSED ME IN FRONT OF MY WEAPON PARTNER SO YOU'D BETTER APOLOGIZE!"

"Library!" Soul hissed, pinching his nose to stop the blood. He glared at Maka. "you realize she's teasing you on purpose right? Remember Morrigan? She TEASED you to get a rise out of you, same thing."

"Morrigan is fun to play with. Nekomata likes her." Rangiku purred, acting for all the world like her zanpakuto. She stuck her tongue out at Maka. "But Morrigan is a butch girlie, she's no fun to hug or play dress up with, she rips her dresses to pieces in the bushes. I like pretty dresses! Just ask my mate! She knows how much I like my dresses."

"if you have a mate how come you want /me/ to be your pet?" Maka asked dryly.

"Because you look like you'd be fun to corru... er play with!" Rangiku beamed.

"Lewd bitch." Soul growled.

"Sour grape!" Rangiku retorted. "you look like a bad booooy, Nyaaa, not like stick in the mud in a suit." She glared at Kid. "you're so uptight, I almost didn't realize you were a shinigami!"

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"Shinigami are guardians of the portal to the other side, but we're also guardians of the life cycle. As things die, so are they born. But all I sense from you is the death side of being a shinigami. It must be really sad." Rangiku tilted her head, doing her best to play the part of Nekomata the hyperactive cat grim reaper. "I know! You should have lots of babies! That should do the trick! You have two nubile weapons go have sex with them and have lots of babies!"

Ox, Soul and Havar were doubled over in laughter. Liz, who had been quiet till now, hauled up Rangiku by her collar. "Listen you bitch. There is no way in hell I'm hopping into bed with Kid or letting my sister do so either. And if you're suggesting what I think you're suggesting, it would involve incest AS WELL as my Meister. You'd better watch your fucking mouth or I'll make your lips too swollen to TALK YOU HEAR ME?"

/Stick your tongue out at that bitch and go a big cute 'nyaaaaaaaaaaa!'/ Haineko instructed.

"Try it bitch, Nyaaaaaa!" Rangiku stuck her tongue out at Liz.

"Liz let her be." Kid's face was beat red. "What on earth makes you think parenthood would fix what you percieve to be a problem."

"Because you silly! Shinigami have rampent parental instincts! Our young age slowly, so we have an increased emotional need to take care of children." Rangiku beamed. "Nyaaa, isn't it obvious? The point is, our people have a joyful side to them too! And all I see from you is a bratty rich boy with a stick up his ass and his nose out of joint if someone doesn't put the silver away in the right order."

"And /how/ do you know I have any kind of disorder." Soul made a snorking sound.

"You just told me, gaki!" Rangiku teased. "Ooooh, I know a man who can make you joyful, his name is Jack Daniels!"

Soul doubled over on the ground laughing hysterically.

"Excuse me, but you're making a bit of a ruckus." A blonde woman with golden eyes and pigtails, wearing a labcoat turned the corner.

"Nyaaaa! Forgive Nekomata madam teacher. Nekomata loves children! Nekomata is very motherly nyaaaa!"

Medusa twitched her brow, just the faintest twitch of irritation.

"HERE! I make you happy too! Just like I make Maka-chan happy!" She shoved Medusa's head into her cleavage.

Medusa shrieked, falling over on her back, face flustered and glaring angrily at Rangiku, who pouted cutely. "Nyaaaa?"

"Get away from me, don't you /dare/ touch me." Maka blinked, looking on the ground and finding a slip of paper from the book she'd used to chop Rangiku with. "What's this?"

"Nekomata" chased after Medusa for a few strides. "Nyaaa, come play with Nekomata, nyaaaa! Please play with Nekomata?"

Medusa ignored her, and Rangiku turned invisible. Then she followed Medusa to the Dispensary, her mission accomplished.

Medusa slammed the door shut. "Nyaaa!" Nekomata scratched on the dispensary door, making herself audible but not visible or sensible. "Let me in Nyaaa, play with Nekomata Nyaaa. I wubs making people happy with my clevage nyaaa! I'm a cute kitty girl with a cute kitty girl tail Nyaaa!"

"BAM!" The door slammed open, Medusa's torso leaned out. "SHUT UP! YOU'RE A STUPID CAT GIRL IN HEAT AND YOU NEED TO BE BEATEN!"

"My my my, finally gone off the deep end Medusa?" Stein asked with a smirk, wheeling in on his chair with a bunch of papers. "I've got some paperwork I need you to take care of involving parental permission forms and emergency contact papers for the incoming class."

Rangiku turned the sound shield back on and giggled. She wasn't done tormenting Medusa. But she needed to get someplace where the risk of discovery was low, and she needed food.

She got out into the main city moving over the rooftops before she heard. "Whatcha doin?"

Rangiku turned around. "Nyaaa?" Trust Rangiku to love a wacky cover id so much that she'd play it to the hilt.

"Whatcha doin? I know every cat and cat person in this city but I've never seen you before." A cat was looking at her, a black cat, with large eyes and wearing a witch's hat.

"You can see me? But I made myself invisible." Rangiku pouted. "i'm Nekomata, a shinigami who tests the fortitude of young Meisters and weapons, nyaaaa."

"There are cat shinigami?"

"oh yes." Rangiku beamed. "I thought you were a friend of mine in a new hat!"

"Woowwww! I thought shinigami would want to kill me, but you're friendly as can be!"

"Well, have you eaten souls?" Rangiku asked.

"nope. They smell bad!" Blair chirped. "Besides, they were people once, and seeing Kisshins eggs eating souls makes me really sad! I would have wanted to play with the people who's souls they're eating but I can't cause they're dead."

"Awwww." Nekomata scooped up Blair in her arms, and she purred.

"Wow, you have way bigger boobs than mine!"

"you have boobs?"

"I'm a cat with a lotta magic! I can make myself into a personish thing with ears and a tail. I has big boobs in that form!"

"ooooh, you remind me of one of my friends back home, but she's a shinigami who turns into a cat, not a cat that turns into a person!" Rangiku hugged Blair. "Will you be my kitty friend?"

"Nyaaa, sure, I'm Blair."

"nice to meew you Blair!" Rangiku was having an absolute /blast/ with this cover, just as Urahara swore she would.

Rangiku beamed, sitting there on the roof with Blair for a bit, stroking the magic kitty with a huge grin.

* * *

Night found Morgan and her cousin Tachi in his disguise of "Shadow, the Demon Katana" departing, hidden from sight by Stein's special devices, as they followed Maka, Soul, Kid, Liz, Patti, Blackstar and Tsubaki. They were heading for their extracurricular lesson, leaving under the cover of darkness. Gwen looked out over the streets of Death city as they departed. She moved swiftly over the buildings towards the edge of the city. She had an assignment of her own. "Ryuunami-fukutaichou. We've confirmed that Medusa is busy in the infirmary." Training Officer Aleser radio'd her.

/Roger./ Gwen replied, using her cybercom to reply so that nobody would hear her.

She stopped outside an abandoned warehouse on the very far outskirts of Death City, one shielded from all notice by Magic, unless you were looking for it. Gwen saw the snakes that covered the shield. /Definately Medusa's place./

/Remember the goals of your assessment of the Demon Sword. You need to see whether or not it can respond to being cared for. That its capable of forming bonds with people./ Aleser told her. /We can only intervene if he/she/it can still form bonds to people. There's no other way./

/Yes.../ Gwen sighed, pulling out a barrier breaking device Tessai had given her. She gently cut the side of the small card like object against the barrier, tracing a hole.

She slipped inside, and the hole closed behind her, erasing any sign to Medusa that she'd cut the barrier. Her cybercom had a map on it, and it showed her in her mind where to go. Thermal imaging was quickly activated on her optical implants. When Gwen had located the room where Chrona was being kept, she moved softly through the halls and stood outside of Chrona's door.

Then she began to sing in a deep, lilting alto voice. Her volume was soft, but should carry through the door. _"Step one you say we need to talk, he walks you say sit down its just a talk. He smiles politely back at you. You stare politely right on through. Some sort of window to your right. As he goes left and you stay right. Between the lines of fear and blame you begin to wonder why you came."_

Gwen heard a soft whimper, and the rustling of chains. The sound of someone rolling over in the bed.

_"Where did I go wrong, I lost a friend. Somewhere along in the bitterness. And I stayed up with you all night. Had I known how to save a life."_

Gwen heard a soft "giupipi?" noise through the wall. Thermal showed a single signature sitting up on a ratty old matress, its head turned towards the door. Then the thermal got up, and walked over to the wall, sitting by it to listen.

_"Let him know that you know best. Cause after all you do know best. Try to slip past his defense without granting innocence. Lay down a list of what is wrong. The things you've told him all along. And pray to god he hears you, and pray to god he hears you."_

The thermal image slipped down to the floor, shaking in soft sobs that she heard through the door, curled up in a fetal position. Gwen reached up to touch the wall where the thermal signature was.

_"Where did I go wrong, I lost a friend. Somewhere alone in the bitterness. But I'd stay up with you all night, had I known how to save a life."_ Gwen's voice was sweet, comforting, kind.

The shaking got harder. Gwen smiled softly, sadly. The reports said that Chrona had been horribly abused by his/her mother. And reports were just not sure what gender the poor thing was.

_"As he begins to raise his voice, you lower yours and grant him one last choice. Drive until you lose the road, or break with the ones you've followed. He will do one of two things he will admit to everything. Or he'll say he's just not the same and you'll begin to wonder why you came."_

Gwen could see Chrona press a thin, delicate, cold little hand on the wall exactly where her clawed glove was.

_"Where did I_ _go wrong, I lost a friend. Somewhere alone in the bitterness. But i'd stay up with you all night had I known how to save a life."_ Gwen's voice tapered off.

Gwen gently slipped open the door to Chrona's room, turning off the thermal cam. She checked for surveillance cameras in Chrona's room, and sensed none. "Chrona Gorgon, Makenshi-san..." Gwen's voice was delicately soft and mournful. "Why do you stay here?"

Chrona was chained to the room. "I... I don't understand what you mean."

"You are strong, very strong, why do you not turn on your mother and escape? She is not here right now. I know, I checked the entire building. You could break your chains and escape."

Chrona started to cry again. "I don't want too... I don't know how to deal with whats outside there! I'm nothing without Medusa-sama!"

"Now thats where you're wrong." Gwen's voice sounded amused. "In reality, Medusa is nothing without you. She bolsters her own confidence by the manipulation of others. Her using you as a pawn makes her feel good."

"What kinda dumb psychobabble is that?" Ragnarok demanded, "And where are you? And do you have food? We haven't eaten for three days!"

"invisible." Gwen replied. "Why didn't you eat for three days?"

"Medusa-sama punishes me when I fail her." Chrona whimpered.

Gwen reached into her robe and pulled out two small brown paper envelopes. "here... its granola. Eat some."

Chrona hesitated, hand shaking as the demon swordsman reached for it. Then the package was in her hand. One for her, one for Ragnarok. Ragnarok downed his in two gulps. Chrona gently nibbled it, shivering. "its cold in here." Chrona shuddered.

"Chrona, I want you to be able to trust me, so I'll tell you what..." she tipped one of the floorboards up, and grinned when it came up easily. "I'll bring you a blanket, and some food and water, and leave them under here. But Medusa is never to know, got that?" Gwen asked.

"Ye... yes. I'm afraid of defying her but..."

"i'm sorry I can't do more, but until your fear of your mother outstrips your fear of the outside, I cannot get you out of here." Gwen said quietly. "Peace be with you Chrona Gorgon." She moved to the window, and gently began to take the pieces apart. "Hmm, I think... I can rig this window as an entry." She pushed it gently. "or an exit. You never tried?"

Chrona shook her head.

Gwen hmmed, gently reaching out to pat Chrona's head. Desperate for human contact, but terrified of being touched, Chrona flinched and pushed her head up into the hand.

Gwen smiled warmly, still invisible. "Can I hug you Chrona?" Gwen asked gently. "I know you've been horribly abused but..."

Chrona gently leaned into the robe covered chest she couldn't see, just crying into Gwen's robes. Gwen gently stroked Chrona's hair, standing there and letting Chrona cry. Checking around with thermal again, she looped part of the robe of her costume around Chrona's shoulders. /Aleser-san./ Gwen said dully. /She latched onto me immediately. Medusa is starving her, so I'm going to hide some food, water and a blanket under the floor. I'll let caring for her be the leash, and gently draw her out. But I think it can be done. If Delphine can be saved from her situation, then I can save Chrona. I know I can. Just give me what time you can./

/Understood, Evaluation of Untapped Chrona Gorgan will continue. Stein will be notified of the promise you made./

/I am recording everything./

/Excellent./ Aleser grinned. /You're great at this Gwen. I need you to be as close to a mother to this kid as you can, can you do that?/

/Yes, I can./ Gwen said softly.

Chrona's sobbing eased. Gwen gently let her go, and started working on the window, rigging it so that it would flop in or out. "What are you doing?" Chrona asked.

"Rigging the window so that I can get in and out." Gwen replied. "Chrona, I can find you anywhere. If your mother becomes too much to bear, and your life is in danger, I want you to use this window to get out."

"B... b... but I don't know how to deal with people!" Chrona sobbed.

Instantly Gwen had the demon swordsman in her arms. "You need to figure it out."

"hmm?"

"You need to figure out how to deal with people, there's no magic manual for doing so. You just have to hope you've figured it out right."

"Thats no comfort." Chrona whimpered. "What if I get it wrong?"

"Then you try to make it right." Gwen replied.

"I can't make it right." Chrona whimpered. "i'm a screwup."

"No you aren't, Medusa wants you to /think/ that because as long as you obey her it makes her feel better."

"What do you mean feel better?"

"Chrona, people like Medusa, derive pleasure from other people's misery. She's making you miserable, because it feels good for her."

"EEWWW, you mean she's getting off on beating CHRONA? EEWWW, the thought of beating up her kid makes her hot between the legs? DISGUSTING!" Ragnarok yowled.

"Ragnarok stop it. Don't make so much noise what if she comes back and hears you?"

"Dude, she's not coming back. She's been going out for days lately."

"Perhaps not, but I can't stay the whole night." Gwen told Chrona. "i'll come back tomorrow night, promise."

Chrona nodded, then Gwen moved to the window, and used her improvised escape hatch to get out. She broke the barrier open again, and left it the way she'd found it.

* * *

It was early the next morning that Mifune woke to the sound of footsteps outside. He'd fallen asleep on the balcony of Angela's castle. But now, slowly coming to full alert, he crept to the balcony to look down.

"So this Mifune person is called the Sword God? That means he must be pretty strong right?" Mifune's heart started to pound. Every single one of the people approaching the castle were shinigami. And what's worse, the one who had spoken was huge. He had an eyepatch, and spiked hair with bells on it. His bare chest was ripped with muscle.

"The reports reflect an impeccable record and a strong sense of a warrior's honor." The shinigami who had spoken was bald, carrying his sword over his shoulder.

"Hmmm, doesn't sound too bad, but he may not be my type. Still, I expect you lot to get some training done you hear? All work and no play makes a warrior sloppy."

"HAHAHAHAHAHA, Kenny, can I play with Angie-chan? Plz plz plz?" A pink haired shinigami perked up from behind Kenpachi Zaraki. She couldn't be physically more than Angela's age, and Zaraki's wavelength had been so huge, Mifune had been unable to sense her presence from where she clung to his back.

"Only if her guardian doesn't get prickly." Mifune was puzzled. The man showed an unusually paternal affection for a man so grizzled, who's wavelength was so stained with the shedding of blood. "I know I would if some stranger wanted his adopted daughter to play with his kid."

"oooooh, okay! I'll put on my cute face and then Ofune-chan will know I'm friendly and let me play!" Yachiru squealed.

Mifune sighed, he'd better deal with this.

* * *

The shriek split the early morning hours in Death City. Ox and Havar leapt from their beds in their new apartment and ran to the window in their pajamas.

Down below, a shinigami dressed in a sapphire, dragonlike costume stood, a crystal scythe in her hands as she faced off against an enormous masked horse with a hole in its chest. "you poor creature." her deep, dolorous alto droned. "You weren't even human to begin with, just the soul of an abused animal fed human souls until you're so confused you don't know who you are anymore."

She bowed politely. "I am Mirai, a shinigami who tests the curiousity of young Meisters. May you rest in peace." She swung the scythe back, preparing to strike. The scythe extended, growing and becoming covered in ice. "Oyasuminasai, Thracian Horse. I will avenge your suffering when I track down your creator."

Swish! The horse leapt over the shinigami's head. "So... you have some wits about you anyway. My granny always used to say that animals always know, I guess that means animals transformed into soul eating monsters as well."

The horse looked at her, knickering. Mirai came in again, only to be sent flying back by its hooves. Ox could tell by watching her, this shinigami wasn't fighting anywhere near her full power. Her movements were leisurely. Her form impeccable and well practiced. Her stance was relaxed, not stressed at all. And her wavelength. Ox could feel this depressed, anguished note to her wavelength.

"Diana, help me guide this wild creature home to your breast, to graze in green pastures by cool waters." The shinigami prayed.

Her form glistened with sapphire energy, and Ox felt the humidity in the air rise, the temperature in the immediate area plunged. Mist began to envelop the streets.

CRUNCH miniature dragon sculptures made of ice grabbed the animal by the back hooves and pulled the feet under. Then spears of ice shot up, impaling it through the underside of its jaw. "Run over the hills of the afterlife, oh Thracian Horse, and may the souls of your victims arrive peacefully in the hereafter." Mirai said cooly.

Ox and Havar got on their slippers, grabbed their housekeys, and ran out to meet Mirai, who was carefully dispelling the ice she created. The monster was slowly evaporating, pieces of pale blue disappearing into the air. Occasionally a human soul would tumble out of its corpse, turn into a black butterfly, and fly off. A few of the butterflies stayed on the ground, and Gwen gently prodded them. "Come now little ones, its alright now, fly away to the afterlife to rest in peace. Surely you know how to get there..." She told the tiny butterflies. "Odd, they're unusually listless. The transition to the hereafter should be swift."

"Its unusual for a human soul to even turn into a butterfly, or at least the way we were taught." Ox lifted a flashlight to see better in the dark.

"When I slay something that has eaten a human soul, it usually disappears to the hereafter and its victims souls disappear to the other side. The crossing should be immediate, not lagged like this." Gwen tsked. "What could that dratted Athenean have done to it?"

"Athenean?"

"A wanted fugitive from Athens Greece, over three thousand years old, and with a penchant for experimenting on the souls of deceased animals. He fed the ghost of an abused horse human souls until it turned into a monster." Gwen's tone was one of extreme disgust. "Disgusting."

"I couldn't agree more." Ox pushed his glasses up on his nose.

"That said, he's specifically engineered their powers, like someone bioengineering a piece of livestock. Don't get any ideas boy, this monster and his creations are dangerous, even for an EAT. I fought him for three days and nights before passing out from exhaustion. If he shows up, you'd better take your weapon and run."

"I'll keep that in mind." Ox began to inspect the fallen creature while the last of the ice disappeared. "Do you mind if I call my boss? He might know how to get the lagged souls to cross over."

"Do as you will, I will keep scavengers from the carcass." Gwen leaned on the crystal scythe she'd been given.

Ox called shinigami-sama and quickly explained the situation. "I'm on my way Ox."

"Shinigami-sama, I will create an ice wall to protect the carcass until you arrive." Gwen drawled. Ice shot up around the carcass, leaving it open to the sky but inaccessable from the ground.

They waited in silence. Until a light became visible. Shinigami-sama arrived from the air, tiny jets attached to his cloak. With him was a man in a priest's vestments riding a motorcycle and listening to music very loudly in headphones.

"So this is the creature?" Shinigami-sama landed as Gwen took down the ice wall.

"Yes. I've seen them before, their creator takes the ghosts of deceased animals and feeds human souls to them. Then he experiments with the results to make them look like monsters from Greek Myths. In this case, the Thracian Horses from the Labors of Heracles."

Gwen waited, watching while Shinigami-sama and the blonde priest inspected and clucked over the remains. "If there is a monster, then its master must be near."

"If the head of the group were here, Shinigami-sama, his soul wavelength would wake anyone in the city with the slightest bit of spiritual awareness." Gwen said. "That doesn't mean that one of his subordinates are not in the general area, just that the head honcho's hands are off this scene." Gwen reached into her robes. "I needed to give you this, but you're always locked away in your tower. I considered leaving it with your son, but then he may want to chase off after the fugitive in question. If I find him," she handed him Marorin's dossier, doctored up by Stein to make him seem to be a kisshin's egg. "... I have a warrant for his arrest. My superiors wish to interrogate him to find his master."

Shinigami-sama nodded. "I will protest that, lets make a deal, whomever can get to this fugitive of yours first, decides his fate."

"You will have to take that up with my mission commanders, Sakuyaken and Queen Bee. I don't have the authority to make that decision, only to convey information." Gwen said dully. She yawned, the mask's hinged jaw stretching open as she did so. "Can you promise me the souls of that creature's victims will be crossed over safely?"

"I shall do my best to do so. To be truthful, this is new to me. Slain kisshins eggs do not spill the souls of their victims. Oh they can be made to vomit up their victim's souls with the right tools."

"grooooosssss..." Ox interjected.

"But those tools are magic tools, something Shibusen does not use without very, very grave circumstances to warrant it."

"Doesn't saving human souls constitute a grave circumstance? If their life has already been taken, then all that is left to save is their Soul, and it /must/ return to the cycle." Gwen asked.

"Yes, but Magic puts the soul of its user in danger. Who protects the protectors?" Shinigami-sama returned amiably. His eyebrow was quirked though.

"True enough. My name is Mirai, you shall see me and my friends again. Mind you, we share a common goal, saving human souls, /but/ you are not our boss. We have our own rules, and our own customs."

"As long as no harm comes to a human soul or to my students because of your actions, I frankly don't care." Shinigami-sama turned to Justin. "Your side car Justin..."

Justin just knelt there by the carcass, trying to coax one of the hell butterflies to his outstretched finger.

"oh bother, can you get his attention and translate?" Shinigami-sama asked Ox.

"Don't bother." Gwen yanked his headphones out. "Your master is talking to you Priest."

"Oh I'm sorry, I can read lips, but neither of you have them."

"Perhaps it is better you take those out. Why do you need them anyway? Surely they are an encumberance in battle?" Gwen asked.

Justin chuckled. "not at all."

"Justin, please use your side car to carry what remains home. We will see if Stein can help us analyze this mess and send the souls that have fallen loose from the carcass to the other side."

Justin nodded. Gwen peered at the headphones. "These are very cool, do you mind if I keep them priest?"

"not at all, oh great Dragon Goddess." Justin bowed politely. "I have spares." He hesitated, then draped his necklace around her neck. "I have spares of that as well, be blessed, Goddess of Death. Your people are few in number, and more precious than words can express."

Gwen chuckled. "Farewell then priest. I will treasure it." She turned, leaping to the rooftop and fazing from sight and perception. Her deep, guttural alto laughter rung on the air before she disappeared from sound as well.

* * *

Byakuya had slipped into the Shibusen Library's history section, pulling out a book of basic history for Shibusen's world. "Interesting, Ox mentioned that one of your people were here earlier." Azusa pushed glasses up on her face.

Byakuya turned. "i'm sorry I don't think we've met."

"Yumi Azusa..." the woman said stiffly. "I couldn't sleep."

"Neither could I, I'm hear to hear about Shibusen's history, as I rarely leave my village. I'm its archivist, so I am very pleased with a sanctuary to learning as large as this library." Byakuya said softly behind his mask. His face curled beneath the replica of Senbonzakura's mask in a smile.

"I can sense your shinigami aura a mile away. Tell me Shinigami-san, can you sense something to the north of town?"

"not that I'm aware, though I have met humans with sharper senses than mine." Byakuya turned to look at Azusa. "What are you sensing?"

"A large bank of fog, reinforced with someone's soul wavelength, centered around a cave system."

"If your curiousity must be satisfied Azusa-san, then I would suggest you go heavily armed and armored, and that you not expect a stealthy approach to help you. All that will save you against that fog's creator, is familiar allies, hefty combat experience, and the skills that come with it. Nothing less than a Deathscythe and the Meister who trained him would stand a chance of success. And I speciefy that the Meister who trained him be sent specifically, because they would have experience with each other, not just with combat." Byakuya turned to go. "My name is Sakuyaken, I have an affection for history, philosophy, and tactics. If you decide to challenge the creator of that fog, I would like to hear how well it went, I will help you fix your tactics. However, remember that the risk to your people, may not be as immediately apparent as you think. Every action you make, should be twice as well thought out, and deliberate, as you normally would make them. And your true strength should be saved for when it is wise to show it."

"What do you know?"

"I know that that fog heralds a scouting party. If they are scouting, that means there's an attack party somewhere, deciding if you are a worthy target."

"That isn't good, the Deathscythe convention is coming in about two weeks."

"Deathscythe convention?"

"The deathscythes and their Meisters return to Shibusen for a few weeks. Its like an international summit."

"i suggest, that you caution those Deathscythes not to show their true strength unless absolutely necessary." Sakuyaken said quietly. "This 'convention' as you call it may be their intended target." he snapped the book he was reading shut. "May I sign this out? Or must I make a photocopy?"

"You may sign it out on my card, in thanks for the warning. I'm in charge of coordinating the convention's security." Azusa replied.

"Domo Arigatou Gozaimasu."

"how dangerous is this person you believe is coming to scout us?"

"Dangerous is too vague a word. How do you define how much of "dangerous" something is? The amount of casualties its inflicted? How well are you able to defend against it? How strong it is? How clever? How malicious? What do you find to be the most "dangerous" trait for an enemy to have Azusa?"

Azusa paused to think. "I think, irrationality, or naivete, make an enemy dangerous."

"then this enemy while very rational, is also very naïve. He is known for considering combat to be a game. For taunting his enemies and treating them like toys. The ability he has is so dangerous that my Elders deliberately selected a warrior to take him down."

"What ranking is her weapon?"

"Adequate." Replied Byakuya. "She has an ability that makes her his equal without a weapon. It is unfortunate, but Shibusen, while it has some good fighters, does not have the caliber of weapon or meister needed as of yet."

Azusa signed the book sign up. "What do you mean 'as of yet?'"

"Because, who knows what new developments or allies await, just around the bend." Byakuya mused, and then he disappeared.

Azusa grew frustrated when she tracked him for a hundred feet, and then he disappeared even from her Senringan.

* * *

Gwen dreamed a dream of anguish, one that would have had her bury her face in ZP's shoulder and cry. But she was a soldier, and she wasn't at home, she shouldn't cry.

The mist covered the road from Floaroma town to Jubilife. Gwen ran fleet footed and agile over the ground. Her steps, bare of tatami sandal and tabi sock, left prints in the soft loamy earth as she followed the trail.

Two massive figures leapt from the shadows. Gwen drew her sword and lunged only... "ITS US GWEN ITS US!" Matt yelled. Dawn was clinging to his back in tears. Piplup was fuming in rage in her arms.

The hulking figures were Garurumon and Gaogamon. "We've found bodies in the forest. And their hollows, which we finished off. But Dawn saw them. It wasn't pretty." Touma reported.

"no kidding." Matt shook with rage. "TK stayed behind to pray for them. And Ducky has been called to deal with the remains. Melinda Warner will be able to assist in the morning but she's busy working late with a case tonight."

"Make sure Ducky is triply guarded, he is too valuable a medical examiner to lose." Gwen said darkly. "Besides that, if he were injured Gibbs would have my HIDE."

"G... Gwen..." Dawn sobbed. "Their entrails... the hollows pulled out their entrails and hung them from trees. And their poor pokemon... they were tied up in front of the corpses..." Dawn sobbed. "... the hollows made them WATCH while they tortured and disembowled their trainers!"

Piplup was fuming in rage, "LUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUP!" The pokemon yelled, struggling in Dawn's grip.

"No piplup, please don't go!"

"We aren't sure if the hollows we got were the perpetrators." Touma said grimly. "I counted five bodies and five hollows."

"I'm going to go look for them, please inform Soifon-taichou of your find."

"DO YOU WANT TO DIE?" Dawn demanded. "Because you SAW what they DID!"

"A wise man once said, 'I'm not going there to die, I'm going there to find out if I was ever alive. Besides, its my duty to save souls. I need to see if there are any there to save." Gwen said kindly. "Touma, please take care of Dawn and inform the Captain as to what has transpired." She flash stepped away, hearing Dawn's hysterical howls of anguish as she rushed in the direction they'd come from.

"Gwen." Stein was knocking on her door. "Shinigami-sama wants you to sing for him."

"WHAT?" Gwen blinked awake.

"I said he wants you to perform for him. This is a valuable opportunity."

"Yes I know. I know what to sing too." Gwen muttered.

As "Amy Selene" trudged up the road towards the castle her voice rang out. "The real foooollk blues, hooonto no..."

Her words to Dawn rang in her head. /When your heart is filled with fear, give no thought to the future. Instead run into the blue, and glory in the wind as your wings caress the sky./


	4. Chapter 4

Gwen was bounding over the rooftops in her Mirai disguise. She'd gotten Uryu to take in the robe slightly so that it fit her better. Below her on the street level Kid was trying to ignore her, taking a little extra time before school so that he could walk with Maka and Soul and talk about those durn mirrors. That was fine, she needed to find an atlas of the area or a series of maps. She had some of the local money. Still when she spotted the Shop she wanted she couldn't help showing off. She leapt over Kid's head, sailing gracefully across the street.

Then she landed outside the newsstand. "Excuse me, that one please." Mirai handed over the money she'd been given and got the Atlas of the area in return.

/I don't know why you're buying that, Gideon already gave you the location he wanted you to use./ Sophie was in a room monitoring her cybercoms. She wanted to get a feel for Kid.

/Souvineer./ Gwen replied tersely.

/A useless one./ Hardison tsked. /I can e-mail you any map you want, and so can Abby and Garcia. Why do you have to buy a physical one./

/For the same reason people on my grandfather's world still collect print paper books rather than computer files./ Gwen drawled.

"What was that for?" Kid asked, meaning the atlas.

"To find something." Gwen replied through the voice changer, a small amount of smugness in her voice.

"Okaaaay, why did your robe change?"

"I had it taken in, the way I was wearing it I resembled your old /man/ more than I liked." Gwen snorted. "no offense..."

"nobody likes looking like someone's old man." Liz snorted. "Are you alright after Patti yanked your tail?"

"Yeah." Gwen said quietly. "I just... have some old wounds so I don't like to be touched very much except by a few people."

"Like who?"

"None of your business." Gwen replied tersely.

/Now thats low, she pulled your tail?/ Hardison asked her.

/Hells yeah./ Gwen replied. She walked alongside Kid, Liz and Patti, but her body posture might as well have screamed. "I'm on my own, don't come near me." /I had a flash back of Dex laughing when she laughed about it./

"I'm sorry." Patti said quietly. "It just looked so leathery and warm and cuddly." Patti stared at Gwen. "I MUST SEE IF YOU'RE THAT WARM AND CUDDLY UNDER THE ROBES!" Patti made a lunge for Gwen.

She got a clawed mithril dragon foot to the chin. "I just said I don't like to be touched very much and ten seconds later you try to grope me? Bad Patti, no biscuit."

"But biscuits are gooooooood." Patti whined from the ground.

"Patti, normally I'd be beating her up, but after that, you're on your own. She just said she doesn't want you touching her." Liz told Patti. "And you go for her ten seconds later."

"I can't help it sis, Mirai-chan's sadface begs for cuddles!"

/Oh i'm taping this for ZP./ Hardison told her.

/If you do that, I will find all twelve of your WoW accounts and destroy everything in them./ Gwen snapped. /After I take a magnet to /all/ of your DATA STORAGE DEVICES! THEN I'LL SMASH ALL YOUR DESKTOP COMPUTERS AND LEAVE YOU WITH A MID 90'S MICROSOFT MODEL WITH WINDOWS 1995!/

"What makes you think I'm sad Patti-san?" Gwen asked, smoothing her robes and straightening up.

"The way you hold yourself."

"The way I hold myself means 'stay the fuck at arms length or else.'" Gwen grumbled. "nothing more, this is a diplomatic mission. While I will not let any of you come to harm should harm come to find you, I must at least /attempt/ to maintain formality until I get to know you three better." She glared at Patti. "Not to mention, my spouse would be very upset if you grabbed me in the places you seem intent to."

"oh... sorry." Patti blinked. "you're married?"

"The ring is under my gauntlet." Gwen replied. "It won't fit on the finger of these gloves."

"Your voice does sound rather sad Mirai." Kid frowned. "Perhaps thats what Patti was thinking about."

"Perhaps, though quite honestly I view you more like the children in my tribe that I mentor when they're getting ready to learn how to fight." Gwen said quietly. "The three of you appear at least a decade younger than I. I'm more likely to view Patti as a student or a /veerrry/ weird niece if I got to know her better. Not as the sort I'd want grabbing me."

Patti beamed. "Really? I'm like someone's very weird niece? Coooooooooool!"

"hey guys, what's with being so weird, its not cool." Soul walked right past them with Maka, and skipping behind them was Morgan.

"So did you know that the core of Jupiter is really made of high pressure hydrogen? It was compressed so much it turned metallic. Pretty crazy huh?" Morgan asked Maka.

"How do you know so much Morrigan? I mean I knew the one about Jupiter, but that bit about coconut water being similar enough to blood plasma to be used for a transfusion in place of blood I'd never heard of."

Morgan blushed slightly. "Ah shucks."

"When you live a nomadic lifestyle, you learn how to use the things you find along your route. And you learn how to take care of yourself, the most primal needs of living, when your home is the ground you walk on." Gwen said somberly, the voice changer made her voice sound like a dead ringer for Rem. Gwen cursed the female shinigami's melancholy nature.

Morgan nodded. "When I was six years old I spent the summer living on the northern Appalachian trail with just a native american guide. No tent, just a sleeping bag and a backpack full of stuff. I'm naturally handy with tools, and at making them, and it started back then making basic tools from items found in nature. By the end of the summer I was floating around on a lake in a boat I'd made from wicker and deer hides with nothing but my knife, a hatchet, and a pair of scissors. I learned how to make containers, rope, even platforms in the trees. And I learned what plants in the forest were poisonous. I'm every bit as smart as you are Maka, its just that my smarts are more geared towards the kind of things I can learn with my hands, feet, eyes and ears."

Gwen chuckled. "Intelligence, creativity, and curiousity are not mutually exclusive." She mused. "I guard the Curiosity of young Meisters and weapons, but many that I have seen with great curiosity are actually the dumbest in terms of IQ. Likewise, creativity is not always gifted to the most intelligent. Just because you can quote facts and figures and pass an exam, Albarn-san, Kid-san, doesn't mean that you're creative or curious."

"Then how would you test curiosity and creativity then?" Maka asked.

"Creativity would mean that you can take the facts you learn and put them together in a way that completes a task you're set or that you set yourself." Morgan spoke up. "For example what I call the MacGuyver test, give a person a workshop full of materials and an end goal, and have them figure out how to take the materials and tools in that workshop and improvise whatever is needed from seemingly random items."

"And I would test curiosity by making sure you have to face your deepest darkest fears for the sake of nothing less than the truth. Being willing to do whatever you have to do to find the truth, that is how I categorize curiosity."

"including killing?" Kid asked, arching a brow.

"ah that is destructive ends to satisfy one's curiosity Kid-san." Gwen told him. "I find killing an unacceptable means simply because as a shinigami I believe it is the divine who decide when a person dies. Not even a Grim Reaper shall know the day nor the hour of his own death. An accidental death due to an experiment is a grey area, should the person conducting the experiment have taken every safety measure conceivable to protect himself and others, and sabotage and foul play are ruled out, then if people still die it is an act of God. However, I find being willing to sacrifice oneself for the truth to be noble, but equally pointless. If you die before you find the truth you seek, in the act of seeking it, then what point was there to actually seeking it? True, you would have no regrets, but its small comfort in the hereafter."

"Aaah, but what if sacrificing yourself for that truth leads to events that bring the truth to light?" Kid pointed out. "I've got you there!"

"Then it is a selfless act done not for one's own benefit but for others. Truth for the sake of other people is not bad either. Assuming, of course, the deceased were comfortable dying without finding his truth." Gwen told Kid.

"HAHA! THE GREAT ME HAS ARRIVED!" Blackstar proclaimed, appearing on a nearby rooftop out of seemingly nowhere.

"hiii..." Tsubaki had curlicues in her eyes.

"So have you humdrums figured out the clue yet?" Blackstar asked.

"No, the image is a cave and the plant and animal life in it suggests its in the american southwest, possibly in the canyonlands north of Death City."

"Canyonlands?" Blackstar head tilted.

"North of Death City there's a massive maze of canyons." Maka told him. "Its filled with cave paintings and its hazardous because sometimes flashfloods go through. They never reach the city, too far away, but if you're crossing the canyon while it happens its pretty much show over."

"Awww, the end of a show is never fun." Blackstar pouted.

"Sorry we're late." Ichigo bowed politely. "Good morning Morrigan, Mirai."

"aaaah, good morning Raion. Be wary, Patti-san seems to enjoy greeting people the way your father likes to greet you. I already had to hold her back with a foot."

"urgg, I'll be careful. You know my old man still treats me like a child."

"By the standards of our people, you, me, and Morrigan are all children. Shinigami don't often consider a fellow of their species an independent adult till between the ages of eighty and one hundred. It depends on the tradition a shinigami is born into. Just because I'm legal, and you're a year short of legal, and Morrigan is only a couple of years shy of legal, by human standards, doesn't mean we're of age by those of our people."

Kid was listening enrapt until. "Good morning young master!"

"Jimmy." Kid greeted the shop owner standing outside a shop called "Krikut's Crafts, local artisans and materials."

Morgan and Gwen squealed when they realized who the shop owner was.

"I've got a fresh load of local handicrafts for the Deathscythe Conference Festival."

"One of my favorite times of year." Kid beamed. "What are you concentrating on this year?"

"Quilts! Desert nights are good and cold so they should sell briskly." Jimmy extended a hand to Morgan, Gwen and Ichigo. "Jimmy Krikut, owner of Krikut's crafts. Be ya lookin for some crafting supplies young reapers?"

"I'm not, but Mirai and Morrigan are crafting nuts. Morrigan does half the tent repairs in our tribe, makes bags and packs, cordage, shoes, really anything we need. She's even made chinese style paper armor."

"Paper armor?" Kid queried.

"its an old Chinese method of deflecting ranged attacks. They'd take layers of paper and laquer it. It was very thick and sturdy, rather like drywall, but very light and made it easy for their soldiers to move around." Jimmy replied. "Still, I'm surprised you'd know about it."

"I told you, they're crafting nuts. However, if you have specialized sewing tools, one of my tribesmen will enjoy a set." Ichigo was obviously thinking of Uryu.

"I need a new multitool, I have plenty of money for a new leatherman, and if you have some new sailcloth needles and leatherworking thread?"

"Hooooollddd up... come by the store around lunch time and pick out what you want." Jimmy chuckled.

"Jimmy Krikut?" Gwen giggled slightly, pointing to the sign for the store that was a sillouette of pinochio with spools of thread on his long nose and knitting needles in his hand.

"yeah, that was his name when he attended Shibusen." Kid replied. "Students are allowed to pick a code name for themselves when they come to attend school here. The girls NOT Dorm RA is named Eternal Feather."

"Soul eater!" Soul chimed cheerfully. "it sounded like a cool weapon name, not to mention its to the point."

"So then Blackstar is your name really Blackstar?" Ichigo asked. Blackstar had been waiting impatiently for Gwen and Morgan to stop squealing over the craft store.

"Yup, Ore-sama has always been named Blackstar!" Blackstar boasted. "A big name for a big man!"

"I'll acknowledge you as being big when I can look up at you /un/injured. Or when you get a few battlescars as a sign of your valor as a Meister." Ichigo said cooly.

"is that what you test?" Tsubaki asked curiously.

"Yes, my job is to test the Valor of young Meisters and their Weapons. Blackstar is a young man with the seeds of valor, but I don't think they've grown just yet." Ichigo replied. "Thats why I took such an interest."

"And Yuki?" Tsubaki asked.

"She tests the Grace of young Meisters and weapons."

"I test creativityyyyyy!" Morgan beamed.

"And as I said I test curiosity." Gwen chuckled. "Curiosity is an advantageous evolutionary trait for any species to acquire."

"Meaaaannnniiinngg." Blackstar drooped.

"Its like this, if you're curious, you discover enemies coming to get you, sources of food, tools to help you acquire food and water, new sources of water, the opportunity to mate, new places to sleep that are safe. Its really required to have even a little bit of an ability to predict the future, which is what separates humans and shinigami from animals. Even your enemies, the kisshins, can gain from curiosity because it finds them the basic prerequisites to survive, food, water, shelter, and to spot enemies before they themselves are spotted. Its essential for any form of combat to be executed competently. Curiosity is an often underestimated warrior's trait, and just because you're smart, doesn't mean you're curious, the two aren't mutually exclusive."

"So I could have the biggest curiosity in the room? Bigger than Maka's or Kid's?" Blackstar demanded, getting up into Gwen's face.

"Blackstar, ask Patti what happened when she didn't respect my personal space." Gwen deadpanned.

"JUST ANSWER MY QUESTION!" Blackstar shook Gwen.

Gwen retaliated by sending Blackstar flying in a Judo throw about six feet. "Touch me again and you'll get much, much worse."

Why oh why oh why did the trauma from Dex keep being rubbed raw by something as simple as exuberant behavior while she was here?

"Mirai are you okay? That... incident isn't giving you trouble is it?"

"Too early to tell." Gwen growled, turning invisible but not imperceptible. "Oye, Nakatsukasa-san, teach your Meister to respect personal space or I'll do it for you." She said coldly.

"Blackstar, shaking people isn't how you get answers to your questions. And what were you doing shaking a shinigami of all people like that? You're lucky she didn't use anything like Kid's death cannon."

"We weren't fighting Nakatsukasa-san, I was simply using a gentle throw that I knew from his musculature and life force that he could withstand as a rebuke." Gwen replied.

"I see." Tsubaki sighed. "Well, if you don't want to be touched, I can't blame you. Blackstar is a... er... he's a bit much to handle sometimes."

"yooooo." Kilik called out, waving as he rushed over with Renji, fire and thunder. "Look who I found!"

Renji puffed out his chest and grinned as he proclaimed to the other weapon meister pairs. "I am the Baboon King Nuekage! I am a shinigami who tests the resolve of young Meisters and Weapons." He strutted, steam literally snorting from the nostrils of his baboon mask. Renji was wearing robes similar in appearance to the markings on "Chimpette's" fur and a large baboon skull shaped mask carved from mahogany on his face. Large carved skybroom wood gloves, a wood known for its toughness, covered his fingers up to the very fingertips. The billowing cotton cloak had been woven in a way that made it look like shaggy fur.

"Nuekage keep your voice down!" Rukia sighed in disgust as she and Nekomata appeared with Kim and Jackie. "Ah yes, I am Yuki, a shinigami who tests the Grace of young Meisters and Weapons."

"Nyaaan, I'm Nekomata, I test the capacity of Meisters and Weapons to feel jooooyyy nyaaaaaannnn." Rangiku meowed, pawing slightly at Maka's leg. "Why do you think I follow Maka-chan and Kiddo-kun around but not Soru-kun or Pati-chan? Cause Pati-chan and Soru-kun can feel joy very well already. Maka-chan's joy is stuck somewhere inside. And Kiddo-kun's joy is as tightly bound up as his sphincter!"

Gwen snorted in laughter. Morgan sighed. "Ah well, if there's one virtue of Nekomata, its her candor!"

"i'm so happy you think so Morrigan-chan, nyaaaan, let me make you happy with my clevage!" Nekomata shoved Morgan's face into her breasts.

Morgan shrieked, and fell over with blood spurting from her nose. "You're a lecher Neko-chaaaan! You're going to corrupt these poor innocent children with the joy on your chest!"

"Nyaaaaan, if more of us valued food and cheer than hoarded gold, it would be a merrier world. My job is to discourage hoarded gold and help people to value food and cheer more." Rangiku stuck her nose in the air.

"Indeed, it would make the job of the just easier, by reducing the amount of people who are wicked." Byakuya said solemnly as he and Soifon approached in costume with Ox and Havar. "I am Sakuyaken, a shinigami who tests the Pride of young Meisters and their weapons. Is your pride a hindrance? Or does it create unyielding standards of excellence and behavior? Are you a man of your word? Or does your word crumble if it becomes too inconvenient to keep it?"

"and I am Queen Bee." Soifon smirked under her yellow and black bee mask. "I test the loyalty of young Meisters and their weapons. Loyalty to your country, your comrades, your partner and your cause. But loyalty must not be given blindly, rather, it must be given wisely to the Master to whom you pledge. You must not only be able to hold the loyalty of others and give your loyalty, but to be willing and able to understand thoroughly the causes and reasons for which you fight." She smiled. "You will be unable to pass my tests of your virtue as Meisters and Weapons unless you can show that you can wisely give and obtain loyalty."

"We will, at some point be testing all of you and your weapons, prepare yourselves. I suggest quiet, contemplation, and a good cup of tea." Byakuya said coolly.

"Tea?" Maka head tilted.

"It is better to have tea on your breath than meat." Byakuya said serenely. "Old Buddhist saying."

"Actually its better to have /rice/ on your breath than meat." Gwen deadpanned. "I think his point is, have a clear mind. When you find the location, you will find the place of your first test."

The walk to the school was rather embarassing for Maka, who felt almost like she had an honor guard, and it rather aggravated her. As soon as, however, they arrived at the school's steps, all the shinigami who had accompanied them seemed to fizzle and disappear.

"its not like a soul protect at all is it?" Maka asked, looking back at where the group was standing moments before.

"I guess not. Isn't soul protect supposed to be like a shield?" Ox asked. "They just fizzed from sight, like static."

"Weird." Soul mused. "maybe they were holograms or something?"

"No. When Blackstar clung to Yuki's leg the night they left our mirrors." Tsubaki told Soul. "Yuki shoved him so hard he went flying. He got right back up of course, Blackstar can take more than being thrown against a wall but..."

"So they really are there..."

"What about a super soul protect." Patti suggested brightly.

"A what?"

"no, I suspect its something more subtle than simply a super strength soul protect." Kid mused. "Something Mirai said the night she left our mirror. There is more in heaven and in earth than is dreampt of in your philosophy. Perhaps, these shinigami and the tests they will have, will have things unknown." Kid mused. They were climbing the massive stairs to Shibusen now.

So Kid stopped in to see his father before school, parting from Maka and Soul. "Good morning father, I had some questions for you before school."

"oh well I'll answer as best as I can son."

"How much about supernatural phenomena has Shibusen discovered as of yet, can you give an estimated percentage?"

Shinigami-sama hmmed. "Two hundred years ago I would have said about fifty percent. But the two centuries since then, and the six before that, have made me revise that estimate, along with the recent events. I'd saaaaay, maybe about ten percent if we're lucky."

Kid's jaw dropped.

"Shibusen's focus has been rather specific, we concentrate on destroying kisshins and witches and for the most part containing the damage the witches do. Have you wondered why every single witch known to exist is not on my list?"

Kid rather scratched his head. "Not sure."

"We do not have a blanket "kill first, ask questions later" order on witches because not all of them are evil. Its just that the destructive ones are in the majority." Lord Death told him. "We have an amnesty policy for witches that are willing to agree to certain restraints whom Mabaa wants Dead. As well as witches with /very/ specific abilities. But this amnesty policy has been used a sum total of 4 times in Shibusen's history. Its applied with the utmost discretion. And there are other considerations. The kisshins are criminals and monsters that harm people, but the witches also hate kisshins, they are more to us like the Soviet Union was to the United States. An enemy nation. They are two distinct attitudes."

"So our purpose is very specific, and thats why we don't know so much." Kid mused.

"Well, our scientists have tended to have very specific kinds of research. Either geared towards defending against and killing kisshins, or geared towards negating and mitigating magic and counteracting spells." Which Kid knew was a Shibusen specialty that Meisters and Weapons could take up.

Kid looked darkly at the ground. "I want to try to understand more of what we don't know." Kid said quietly.

"A wise idea." Shinigami-sama replied.

"Er father, another question, who's in charge of teaching survival skills to Weapons and Meisters?"

"aaaaah, that is Azusa's ballcourt. She may look like a bureaucrat, but she is tough, she is intelligent, and cover warfare is a specialty of hers. She's the one who trains all survival and covert specialists. Even Sid and Nygus had to pass her mustard before they could take up covert operations as a specialty. Why do you ask?"

"I'm going to have to go out into the canyonlands. I'm not going to go without having some idea of how to handle myself, Liz and Patti in an emergency."

"In that case, Azusa can give each of you a combat survival pack for three days."

Kid drooped. "Couldn't it be 8 days?"

"Kid, do you know what it feels like to carry eight days of rations on your back?"

Kid blinked. "no."

"A day's rations is about the weight of what you carry in your backpack to school, textbooks, gear, notebooks, ecetera. Picture that, multiplied by eight." Shinigami-sama pointed out.

Kid hefted his bag. He'd weighed it before, twenty pounds. "One hundred and sixty pounds." Kid groaned. It was more than he weighed. Having a symmetrical amount of days of gear was completely out of the question.

* * *

"You want to carry eight days of gear for you, Liz and Patti?" Azusa glared at Kid over her glasses. "has your father explained the math of that for you?"

"Well um... yes..."

"If you're dead set on that much for each person, I suggest you set up a base camp at the entrance to the canyonlands." Azusa told him. "I'll put my old volkswagon bus at the entrance filled with gear. When you need to get home, or you're in trouble, call me, I'll give you a cellphone with my number on speed dial."

"What about a more permanent basecamp?" Kid asked. "It may take more time to search than I generally have."

Azusa sighed. "fiiiinneee, I'll find a minivan owned by Shibusen. A car is actually a very good shelter you know. Now i'm going to give you a booklet about wilderness survival. Memorize as much of it as you can, I'm not letting you take any wilderness gear out unless you can demonstrate to me that you can protect yourself, Liz and Patti if one of you gets too hurt to proceed or lost."

Kid groaaaned, it was going to take him weeks to get all this to the standard Azusa demanded of him. He'd better get started.

* * *

"So Timburr, can you build this for me? And is Stunky gonna be able to help you?"

"Stunky stunky."

"Timburr timburr..." A team of ten Timburr had been hired to build the different testing areas for Kid and company. They'd just been asked to build an Indiana Jones style series of traps, with symmetrical objects as bait.

"As for you Vespiqueen." Soifon beamed. "I want you and your hive to get settled in the cave system I picked out for your test."

"Soooo, Trapinch, Rhyhorn, you guys are gonna set up a fake dispute over territory for them to mediate, but Rhyhorn you have to be really aggressive about it and be ready to attack them okay?" Ichigo asked.

"Rhyyyyhooorrnnn." Rhyhorn nodded.

"But you can't seriously hurt them, just rough them up a bit so that they have to get exercise and defend both the trapinch and yourself." Ichigo explained.

"I think for my test it will require an act of kindness." Rukia mused. "The question is, how do I do it with four Pachirisu, two Castform and a Charmander?"

"I have a book on electric rodents you can read." Gwen offered. "I'm sure you'll figure out something."

"errr, Taichou, what are you going to do?" Renji asked, looking over at the group of wild Larvitar, Bagon and Gible he'd been given for assistance in his testing.

"I have an idea Abarai Fukutaichou, no worries." Byakuya smiled, giving the dragon and dark pokemon a pat on the head.

Gwen mused on matters as she watched the Timburr pour over the plans for her test. With dozens of wild pokemon busy to the north of the city in the canyonlands Shibusen would have a group of allies to the north. She also had to start caching supplies north of town.

* * *

"SHE REQUIRES WHAT?" Maka shrilled when Kid told her what Azusa required for the group to go to the canyonlands. "What the fuck does she think is going to happen."

"Maka please don't shout. This isn't like going to Italy and staying in some posh hotel for a few days. This is the canyonlands. They're easily the most difficult to navigate part of the desert outside the city." Soul pointed out, pausing his Xbox game and turning to look up at his Meister that afternoon.

"Alllriiiightt." Maka sighed. "How many of the others did you convince to help you?"

"YES! Thank you Maka." Patti grinned. "I've never gone camping before and I really want to go!"

"Blackstar and Tsubaki are in, Ox and Havar, I still have to convince Kim, Kilik is all up for it if he doesn't have any missions that day."

"aalllriiiightt." Maka facepalmed. "Lets make this a swaree."


	5. Chapter 5

That night, Gwen brought a book to Chrona, the Hobbit, and read to her until Chrona fell asleep. As she was on her way back to patch labs, she saw Medusa walking the streets. Gwen decided to do something to her.

Gwen dropped silently, following the witch, hidden from sight, sound and perception.

Then Gwen flash stepped in, slicing delicately at Medusa's cheek, producing an inch and a half long laceration known in Gang Terminology as a "buck fifty" for the number of stitches it required to sew.

Medusa struck out instantly with a fist, trying to hit what she couldn't see.

Mist started to gather around the witch. Gwen struck from behind, shoving her face first into a wall. Medusa hit her head and passed out. Gwen rolled her over and dug through her supply scroll, pulling out a large bottle of Tillik red wine, the really nasty stuff. She opened the bottle, splashed a bit on Medusa's front, poured a bit into the nearby trashcan, and then left the half empty bottle in Medusa's hand.

The next morning Gwen was following Kid as he paid his father a morning visit, sitting in the Deathroom, perched on one of the guillotines utterly concealed, when Medusa stumbled in from when she roughed her up, smelling like wine.

"Medusa-san, did you get drunk last night?" Shinigami-sama asked.

"I got ambushed by a concealed attacker." Medusa said concisely. "See? They even cut my cheek."

"You could have gotten that stumbling around drunk Medusa-san, don't be ashamed its been known to happen." Liz smirked. "What you got some action last night but got a little too sauced?"

Patti was laughing at Medusa while Kid pointed out. "you could have just been drunk and hit your head, you do reek of booze."

Medusa glared at Kid with a look fit to kill, starting towards the table and the tea. Gwen made a quick sheet of ice just under the sand of the Deathroom. Medusa slipped and fell, her heal coming off of her shoes. "DAMNIT!" Medusa cursed. "My ANKLE is twisted! I'm TELLING you I'm being stalked, I'm not drunk some damned fool student must be punking me!"

"You're so drunk you're falling down." Liz pointed out. "Go get some coffee from Maestros and sober up."

"Yes, take the morning off." Shinigami-sama told her. "Stein can take your shift and have his class do studyhall."

_/no no no, don't give her the morning off, chew her out and dock her paycheck./_ Gwen thought to herself.

_/WHAT are you doing Gwen?/_ She could hear Nate demand on the comm.

_/oh me? Trying to punk an evil witch. If I could, payback could be sweeter./_

_/Huh what? Show me the visual./_ Nathan Ford yawned, obviously he'd had a late night.

Gwen showed him the visual. "I'm TELLING you I'm not drunk! I got ambushed last night!" Medusa yelled.

_/Your doing I presume?/_

_/Yeah, plus I tripped her and broke a heal. I wanted to punk her /sooooo/ bad for what she did and does to Chrona./_

_/Really, well wait till she's alone in her office and freeze the words "I'm watching you." on the wall and see what she does./_ Nate told her. _/We need intel on Medusa too, for a different reason./_

_/Sureeeee!/_ Gwen chimed happily._ /Hey do you think Hardison will be happy if I bring him home a present?/_

_/Like what?/_

_/Like a hard drive from her base in Vegas./ Gwen replied. /I found a map with three different of Medusa's bases in the area marked. I'll bet she's got a big juicy harddrive for Hardison-san to whet his appetite for mayhem on!/_

_/Hmmm... Medusa has a base in Las Vegas? Tell you what, I'll have Hardison and Parker double team that place and tell you what they find./_ Nate told her. _/Crux has a different assignment for you guys over the next few weeks. Byron and Roark have found a large underground cavern system north of Death City. Several of the caverns are large enough to store supplies in. Crux's orders are to be able to store building supplies and dry goods north of Death City./_

_/Whatever for? Is she anticipating some kind of siege?/_

_/Dunno. She just said she wants an emergency stockpile in place to bring down to Shibusen. Building supplies, dry food, clothing, tents, you know, all the things you'd need for a disaster, a stockpile./_

Gwen sighed to herself in disgust, her voice was shielded from the others hearing her. **Crux-sama has to know something. Aizen is headed here. I'm almost sure of it.**

Kid, Liz and Patti left, so did Medusa, grumbling about icing her ankle. Shinigami-sama sighed. "Mirai-chan, are you up there? The humidity rose in here when Medusa tripped. Are you pulling a prank?"

Gwen didn't answer, dropping and darting off after Kid via flash step, she quietly opened and closed the Deathroom door, using tip toed steps and movements learned after years of raising fussy, light sleeping babies. All Lord Death would find were dragon shaped footprints in the sand on his floor.

Medusa was alone in the infirmary, cleaning up and icing her twisted ankle. Gwen calmly walked to the window, which was open, flicked the stick propping it up out, and then darted backwards when Medusa lunged for the window. She wrote on the window pane. "I'm watching you Medusa!"

"OH YEAH! Come out and FIGHT!" Medusa yelled. "God damnit, STOP SKULKING!" Gwen could hear her frustration.

Gwen erased the writing. _/Now what?/_

_/Tell her teasing her is fun./_

Gwen wrote what Nate said. "Teasing me is fun? OH HELL its on NOW! I'm just a nurse! WHY AM I GETTING PICKED ON!"

_/Accuse her of being a psychopathic child abusing witch. It is, after all, the truth./_

Gwen wrote. "you are a psychopathic child abusing witch, I hate you, go off yourself." Medusa got this absolutely murderous look on her face as Gwen erased the message and waited for Medusa's reaction.

Medusa simply glared around the room, eyes slitted and several vectors coming from her mouth.

_/Okay, write Child Abuser and Betrayer all over the room./_ Nathen told her.

Gwen hesitated, then sighed as she started writing "Child abuser" and "Betrayer" all over the room in ice.

"Oh really, well if I'd done any of that you'd have proof!" Medusa harumphed. "Why don't you come out and face me?"

_/Okay, fill the area around the school, then the room with mist, and then open the window again and jump out. Just make the room as frigid cold as you can./_

The temperature shot down, the humidity shot up. The mist coalesced into an enormous chinese dragon , tinted blue with Gwen's wavelength appeared in front of her. She animated the dragon to growl softly, saying exactly what Seiryuu felt as Gwen opened the window. "tHiS iS mY lAnD wItCh aNd YoU hAvE dEfIlEd It By AbUsInG yOuR cHiLd AnD cOmInG hErE! BE cUrSeD wItH mY fRoSt FoReVeR mOrE! YoU wIlL fOrEvEr fEeL mY cHiLl EvEn In ThE hOtTeSt WeAtHeR!" As Gwen shot out the window, Medusa found herself covered in thin crystals of ice, her hair covered in it. She just turned white and staggered out of the dispensary as fast as her legs could carry her, hair frozen in place.

The air and water around Gwen was so cold that on the roof, Sid could see a large cloud of frigid mist floating over the school with faint snowflakes floating from it. The mist formed into a chinese dragon, growling and snarling, eyes glowing red. Where it passed, ice crystals froze on the roof. Gwen alighted next to him.

"Are are, which are you, Mirai or Marorin?"

Gwen appeared. "Marorin would never be so bold. He's a prankster. It is I."

"I saw you come out of the dispensary, may I ask you something?"

"Yes, though I reserve the right to not answer."

"Do you, like I and Stein, suspect Medusa the nurse of actually being a witch?"

"I suspect her of being a witch, I suspect her of human experimentation, and I suspect her of child abuse. Can I prove it? no. I confronted her and she acted indignant. There is nothing she can do against me unless I can bring you proof. Alas, I wish I could do so. If it is true she has defiled a child in city limits, the dragon who I have a strong spiritual tie to will surely wish to kill her." Gwen lifted a claw. "Dragons are powerful protectors of the weak and helpless, he will not allow her to abuse a child if he can help it."

"I see... this conversation never happened." Sid told her.

"No sid-san, it did not." Gwen opened her wings, trailing snow crystals behind her.

"One more thing, child abuse?"

"The demon sword, it would have to have been a child before it began eating souls. Ask yourself what Medusa had to do to it to get a child to do something like that? Children, when their survival is threatened, can become violent in ways far more extreme than adults. They have not yet learned to control their amygdala. Kisshins are creatures of fear yes?"

"Yes, and humans who are afraid and who fall from the path often do so because they think power will solve their problem."

"Then you have your answer, if she is the same as the witch who commands the demon swordsman, then she would have to have made that child very, very afraid to make it kill. Perhaps, the key then to beating it, is to ease that fear." Gwen mused.

"How?"

Gwen flapped off. "Remember zombie, music hath charms to soothe the savage beast."

"Riddles huh?" Sid shouted up.

"If I gave you all the answers immediately there would be no quest, nor would i be encouraging your curiousity." Gwen called down. "I think you can handle the situation, you just have to make your undead brain work hard enough."

"Really." he muttered as she flew off.

* * *

"Interesting, she hates the witch but not the sword or its Meister." Death mused. "But those wings, they seem familiar." He got up and paced a bit in the Deathroom.

"Familiar sir?" Spirit asked, bringing in a cup of midnight chamomile tea.

"I can't place it. Oh well, I'm sure the mystery will solve itself in time." He yawned, sipping the tea through the hole in his mask. "That girl... I can tell she wants to be friendly... but so cautious, so distrustful, its a pity."

Spirit smiled a little. Of course Gwen wanted to be friendly. This was Gwen they were talking about.

"Anyway, you'd best be getting some sleep Spirit. I need you to be at the top of your game." Shinigami-sama yawned. "Oooh, I should get some sleep too."

"Night sir." Spirit headed out of the Deathroom and to Takato's for some good Telgar beer. Pernese drinks tended to be stronger and harsher, as if the world besieged by death from the sky had even made the yeast more aggressive.

Shinigami-sama turned to the mirror as soon as everyone was gone. "Show me Mirai..." He frowned.

On the screen was Amy Selene, the singer, she was standing in Stein's lab with the others in her group. She pulled out a small item that looked like a pez dispenser from her pocket, popped it open and pulled out a small green pill.

"Soul perception..." Shinigami-sama wanted to catch Amy with her protections down. Except...

Amy swallowed the pill. Shinigami-sama's jaw dropped. If he'd blinked he would have missed it. For a split second the girl had two souls in her body, "that pill is a soul?" He blinked.

Then Amy's soul was ejected from her body. "Good thing we brought mod souls along instead of subs, I don't think Chappy the Rabbit would be containable in the lab."

The other soul had taken control of 'Amy's' body. "Nova, can you keep a look out tonight?" Mirai asked the soul in the gigai. In her place was a girl with long blonde hair and beautiful green eyes.

"Hai." The soul pulled a hat on down over Amy's face, wide brimmed.

"Thats so cute when he does that." Yuki chuckled, carefully removing the makeup from her face with a sponge.

"How'd things go testing Blackstar?"

"As to be expected, Tsubaki is a lot nicer to be around and I give the girl props for dealing with his Ego. But he's latched onto Ichigo like craaazzzy."

"Bromance?"

"More like I think he's becoming our Fanboy." Yuki sighed. "I just don't want him to become too attached and be heartbroken when we go home."

Mirai walked across the room to a bed holding a body in some kind of spiritual stasis field. "here we go..." she deactivated the field and climbed inside the other body.

"Sooo, they become ghosts..." Shinigami-sama mused. "Interesting, it makes disguises quite easy. All they need is an empty body not being used by another Soul." He peered more closely at Mirai's soul and gasped.

Mirai had a dragon's soul enmeshed with her own, a dragon's soul that shone with a beautific divine light, deep and brilliant sapphire. "I've seen a picture of that Dragon before! he lived here... it explains her presence, she's bringing him home." Mirai's Soul was happily, even smugly, cuddling with the dragon soul. There was no competition for space, the two were held at equilibrium and quite content with each other.

The body sat up and groaned. "Oh goood that is absolute murder coming back to the old corpse after using a gigai. My body aches all ooooveerrr. Its like my soul knows full well it doesn't belong in that god damned bonebag Nova took up to the roof."

"At least you have the nicer Meister to test." Yuki groaned. "Evaluating Kid HAS to be easier than chasing THAT ball of energy around in the Desert HEAT!"

"no, I have to evaluate /two/ TWO. Plus, Kid is a double weapon user. Which means I have to take two weapon partners into account. Plus Gideon-taichou gave me /specific/ instructions on how to evaluate his control over his OCD. I'm in trouble if I deviate from them, /even/ if doing so /fills/ me with self loathing."

"How's your mother?" Nekomata asked kindly.

"They put her on medication again and she got a secondary infection because it TANKED her damned immune system. Those BASTARDS at the state asylum are going to KILL her someday." Mirai snarled in frustration. "I just have to hope Casey and Alex can come up with something. They're shutting that place down in a month and moving her THREE STATES away."

"Shameful." grunted Sakuyaken. He pealed off his mask, revealing a serene countenance that Shinigami-sama found rather calming. "Even if she is mortal, and you are not, one's mother is a treasured family member. She shouldn't be treated like this."

Mirai choked on tears, Shinigami-sama could see her shoulders heave.

"I didn't mean to upset you fukutaichou." Sakuyaken said in a calm voice. "Perhaps for your mother, death would be a better blessing."

"That's a phone call I dread."

"After wartime, we'll find someplace for her to go Ryuunami-fukutaichou, I promise."

War? They were in the middle of a war? With whom? As far as Shinigamigami-sama knew they were at peace.

"Speaking of which." Stein came in with a clipboard. "I've finished the analysis of that monster."

"And?"

"Agents were added to it to slow the crossing of souls upon the creature's death." Stein told them. "I believe its Zephly's way of trying to use shinigami nature against you."

"how so?" Sakuyaken asked.

"Remember what he said to me in Jubilife City? 'You shinigami are so predictable.'" Mirai quoted. "He was laughing because by holding a human soul hostage he caused me to stop my attack long enough to blast me." Again, someplace Shinigami-sama had never heard of.

Stein nodded. "He's expecting a shinigami to stop and try to clean up and cross the souls once the creature is slain, it means he can mount an ambush at the carcass." He sighed. "Now, there is one more matter. We need to test how the students here respond to magic users who ARENT evil or destructive. All they've known all their lives are witches who attack and destroy things."

"Who did you have in mind?"

"Hermione has volunteered as bait."

"Out of the question. She's the smartest witch in her year and Harry NEEDS her when he goes after Lord Voldemort."

"Hermione is tougher than you give her credit for." Stein warned. "She, Harry, Ron, Ginny and a few fith and sixth year students and graduates from Hogwarts have agreed to run the test. Professor Hagrid will be supervising to make sure they behave themselves."

"She's a sixth year, she hasn't graduated yet." Mirai said stubbornly. "Perhaps shinigami-sama will know how to tell a good witch from a bad one, but I /highly/ doubt his students will make that distinction. They weren't alive in the days of the White Rebellion." She knew about that? So thaaattts what this was about! The failed war to save Magic from being corrupted into evil.

"Mirai, this test has to happen and they /have/ to pass." Stein told her. "If they don't, then we'll /never/ be authorized to make public contact. The world will become more damaged and the balance of souls tilted further and further towards the brink. If they fail, we'll have to wait until /Kid/ has children of /his/ own for First Contact to be authorized."

"I know I know I know. Its a crappy situation." Mirai groaned. "I need a rest. Morgie, can you pay Chrona a visit tonight, I haven't been sleeping well since I came to Death City. I've been reading her 'The Hobbit' I even have the place marked. Just read till she goes to sleep, leave fresh MREs, take the trash out, and go okay?"

"Why?"

"I keep having dreams of past battles in this war, and they /hurt/ so bad. I wake up in the middle of the night, always at the same time, and I feel something dark and evil stirring beneath me, as if I had been perturbed by the Dreamings of an Evil Brahma." Well, that was one way to put it. Asura occasionally stirred within his seal, triggering nightmares in the city's inhabitants.

"Seiryuu is probably what makes you susceptible." Stein told her. "Get some rest, I've seen people go insane from lack of sleep."

"Night." Mirai left the room.

"It can't be helped." Morrigan said quietly. "You think /He/ is stirring professor?"

"Perhaps, he does on occasion." He meaning Asura. "Occasionally a bit of the darkness leaks to the surface world, and sensitive individuals find themselves sleeping very lightly. You aren't having strange dreams are you?"

"no." Morrigan replied. "I have the ability to walk on the astral. I am immune to his demented stirrings. The God of Fear would have to be in line of sight to me to have an effect." The girl sounded glum.

"Dreamwalking is a gift, thats why you were assigned where you were. You can see into people's subconscious minds, and see the symbols in their dreams and you're learning how to interpret them."

Suddenly shinigami-sama found his mind being touched, and a whisper in his ear. **Do not fear them Shinigami-sama. After years among the dead, my soul is coming Home to you...**

"Michelle?" Shinigami-sama turned, whirling.

Nobody was there.

When he turned back a face was looking at him through the mirror. Her once brilliant blue eyes were black, and a black light emanated from her chest. This was her shade, the shade of the woman who would follow him to the ends of the Earth without question, doubt, or hesitation. The witch who's loyalty to Death had been unswerving, even when it pitted her against her people. Who sacrificed herself to try to kill Mabaa, failing and dooming an entire world to the darkness.

"Michelle!" Shinigami-sama's jaw dropped.

"My soul is coming home after so many centuries away. But first, I will bring tests, and signs of things to come. Pay attention, and let your students be tested."

"They're you're doing?" They meaning the shinigami that had appeared in town.

"Only a little." Michelle replied. "They are friendly, but they are restricted in what they can tell you. They are prohibited by someone far more powerful than I. They can help Shibusen, dark days are ahead. But for them to come openly, to help freely, your students must pass tests of their mettle. And a far higher standard will be put to your son than he has ever experienced in his life."

"to Kiddo? But he's still so small..." Shinigami-sama's eyes watered. "Is that what Stein is doing? Helping them set up the tests?"

"And make it so that your students can pass." Michelle said with a smile. "Do you trust him?"

"Of course..."

"Then let him bring two worlds together, the way two souls become one with resonance... to make things beautiful." Michelle hugged Lord Death and disappeared.

"how could that old witch come back after so long?" Death asked the air. "I haven't seen her shade in four hundred years."

* * *

"Thats how we'll knoooooww oooww, this is not a test, we'll knoooowww ooowww this is cardiac arrest, of a world too proud to admit our mistakes, kissing the ground as we all, yeah we all fall from GRACE!"

Gwen was in her Amy gigai, grinning hugely as she ground out the bridge on her guitar. Throughout the morning, staff and students from Shibusen had poked their heads in to see who was ripping up rock and roll in the music room.

Morgan grinned. "I wanna do the next one please Amy? Please please?"

"Sure why not."

Morgan began the opening notes for "Animal I have Become." "God I love this one." Of course she did, Morgan is a vizard.

The bell rang and Gwen grinned as she looked over at the door. Maka and Soul poked their heads in. "So what if you can see, the dark inside of me, noone will ever change this animal I have become. Help me believe, its not the real me, somebody help me tame this aniiimal I have become..." Morgan and Gwen sang the chorus, Morgan's head bobbing slightly in time to the music.

"you do realize that Domick would slap you with a ruler for bobbing your head."

"Well he's not here is he?"

"We have an audience." Gwen pointed to Maka and Soul and waved.

"Hey guys." Ichigo grinned, "Trying to figure out what songs to put into our next performance. Don't mind us."

"Well, you aren't that bad but I can hear you down the hall." Medusa grinned, poking her head in the room behind Maka and Soul.

"Aallllrriiight, genius can't be rushed, so the three of you get out and we're locking the door, see you later okay?" Gwen grinned, trying to get Medusa /out/ of the room.

"You know." Ichigo said with a look over at Renji. "I feel almost like we should do a song about devotion, I mean look at the Meister weapon pairs that have come in and out to listen so far. They look pretty happy."

"I've got the perfect one." Rukia grinned from the piano bench as she began to play. "Until the day I die, I'll spill my heart for you."

"Hey thats perfect. Thalia sing it with me!" Gwen beamed hugely at Rukia. "Wait... Maka, Soul you can listen, its lunch time right?" She FINALLY got Medusa out of the room and locked the door.

"yeah, so we've got some time."

"Right guys, places." Gwen grinned, taking up her guitar and striking the opening chords. She looked left, then right, at her friends and smiled.

_"Until the day I die_

_I'll spill my heart for you_

_Until the day I die_

_I'll spill my heart."_

Rukia's delicate hands tinkled over the keys as she played on the piano that Soul normally occupied. Renji was on drums, Ichigo's rough tenor raised itself from the group. Then Morgan looked over at Maka and Soul and blushed as she joined in with her own guitar.

_"As years go by I race the clock with you_

_But if you died right now you know that I'd die to, I'd die too"_ Ichigo grinned, not the best voice, but warm enough to melt away even the firmest cold.

_"You remind me of the times when I knew who I was_

_(When I knew who I was)_

_But still the second hand will catch us like it always does."_ Morgan's soprano sounded like a songbird.

_"We'll make the same mistakes take the fall for you_

_Hope you need this now I know I still do."_ Rukia grinned at Ichigo with this goofy daredevil look.

And altogether Gwen lead the chorus, Maka got the distinct impression that the guitarist meant the song as much for her bandmates as she did for her and Soul to get a preview.

"Until the day I die

(Until the day I die)

I'll spill my heart for you, for you

Until the day I die

(Until the day I die)

I'll spill my heart for you"

Ichigo and Morgan, Rukia and Renji alternated who sang the next verse, each one remembering half a dozen squabbles and fights they'd had with each other.

_"Should I bite my tongue until blood soaks my shirt?"_

_"Never fall apart so tell me why this hurts so much"_

_"My hands are at your throat and I think I hate you"_

_"But still we'll say, "Remember when""_

_"Just like we always do, just like we always do"_

_Until the day I die_

_(Until the day I die)_

_I'll spill my heart for you, for you_

_Until the day I die_

_(Until the day I die)_

_I'll spill my heart for you_

_Yeah I'd spill my heart_

_Yeah I'd spill my heart for you_

_My hands are at your throat I think I hate you_

_We made the same mistakes, mistakes like friends do_

_My hands are at your throat and I think I hate you_

_We made the same mistakes we made the same mistakes_

_Until the day I die_

_I'll spill my heart for you, for you_

_Until the day I die_

_(Until the day I die)_

_I'll spill my heart for you, for you_

_Until the day I die_

_(Until the day I die)_

_I'll spill my heart for you_

_Until the day I die_

_(Until the day I die)_

_Until the day I die_

As the last notes died away, Gwen bowed politely. "Whatchu think?"

Soul grinned, offering Gwen a grin and a thumbs up. "Cool Amy, I look forwards to hearing it in concert. I don't have to be doing the entertaining for once."

Gwen rather thought that Soul wouldn't mind playing with a bunch of gatekeepers, after all, they played for fun with each other, not for money or fame.

"Alright, this next one Kaguro, you'll need to do a lot of drumming. Its /mostly/ keyboard and drums with some guitar in it. I think we should use a combo electric and accoustic for this one..." Gwen began, striking up the chords for "raise your glass."

"Let me iiiin from the rain don't you let me go again let the water run down my faaaacee." Morgan piped as they followed Kid down the hall.

Gwen chuckled. "Jeeze Karana, for a girl who's so emo you sure like to sing."

"And I /do/ jump around when I go to shows!" Morgan joked.

Gwen chuckled a little at Morgan. "Karana does have her emo moments, but at least she has her cheerful ones too."

"I am the TOORRRTUUREED herrroooo, constantly questioning whether my footfalls are heading down the right path." Morgan said, melodramatically drooping in Kid's way.

Kid snorted at her. "More like the obnoxious wannabe."

"Why /Kid/. I didn't think you had the brass ones to actually /say/ that." Gwen mocked. "Perhaps daddy should be worried that his cute ickle bebbie is... HOARK!" Kid grabbed her by the collar.

"Say one word, just ONE about my father and I swear I'll..."

"You'll what? Arrange all my socks symetrically in a drawer? No thanks, I like them higgldy piggledy mish mash in with my underwear and bras. That way it keeps you out."

Kid turned red in the face. "I... I would never... GAH!" He stormed down the hall to a nearby mens room.

"Is he going to jack off?" Morgan asked irreverantly. "He didn't look like Amy gave him a stiffy."

Patti laughed hysterically.

"He's probably going to wash his face and hands eight times." Liz facepalmed. "Still, you did catch on pretty quick, if I ever want to hide something from Kid I put it in my sock drawer with my underwear and bras and leave the socks unmatched. He never goes near it."

It took 10 minutes for Kid to finish. "How long did it take?"

"Not telling." Gwen grunted. "Your father is WAITING for us. C'mon."

"He knows by now that Kid is frequently late." Maka grunted as she carefully manuvered a heavy bookbag past them and towards the library.

"I'd make book on him not liking iiitt." Gwen said in a low singsong voice.

Kid just gave Gwen a glare. "You can go on your own!"

"but kiiiiddooooo." Gwen whined. "You're such wonderfully pushy company!"

"AMY!" Kid snarled. "Why don't you shut up about not liking Symmetry AND STOP MOCKING ME!"

Gwen felt like a pig. She truly did. Amy was supposed to test how Kid was able to handle rejection and someone incompatible with his beliefs.

"you know Kid..." Gwen mused.

"WHAT?" he sounded frazzled.

"Chicken butt! You're it!" She tagged Kid and ran off for the Deathroom.

"HEEEEEEYYY!" Kid yelled. "I'M SUPPOSED TO ESCORT YOU!"

"THEN STOP TAKING TIME OUTS FOR SYMMETRY AND DO YOUR DAMN JOB!" Gwen called back to him over the heads of the other students in the hall. Her laughter was genuine. But she felt sick inside.

/I swore I'd never... never... NEVER do this to someone who's mentally ill./

Shinigami-sama had wanted to arrange two concerts of the Howling Dragons. One at a costume party for the students. Another at the upcoming Deathscythe festival. Gwen had negotiated the terms of the concert, including instruments, time, place, and venue.

"One more thing, we have our own soundproofing technology. Impossible to use it in the open air but I'd love the chance to test it at the indoor concert."

"Sure, I love giving free reign to creativity, as long as it doesn't harm anybody."

* * *

Gwen had finished the negotiations as "Amy" and managed to slip away to change into her Mirai outfit. When she found Kid, Liz and Patti after school Patti was overjoyed. "Disaaasteerrr month! DOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!"

"Its disaster preparedness month Patti, and it doesn't come for another two weeks." Liz yawned. "Every year, Deathscythe festival and then disaster preparedness month."

"god Morrigan will love that." Gwen simply appeared. "She's one of those naturalist types, loves to read up on the most arcane and obscure types of disasters one could think of. Get her going and she could recite every VEI 8 or higher volcanic eruption known and a good number of the VEI 7 ones plus every single theory concerning every mass extinction, hurricanes, floods, tornadoes, earthquakes, mudslides. She can say "flood" in 10 languages."

"did you have to mention the number SEVEN when I'm in the middle of a freakout Mirai?" Kid demanded.

"Jeeeeze, sorryyyy." Gwen snorted. "Why are you freaking out?"

"Father is going to show me the emergency plans for Death City this year. Every year he said I was too young and now... WHY THIS YEAR?" Kid wailed. "He SAID I had to wait till I was eighteeen! Why DID HE CHANGE HIS MIND? Oh the PRESSURE! I CANT TAKE IT, I HAVE TO MAKE SOMETHING SYMMETRICAL."

Gwen giggled behind her mask, walking over to Kid. "Face me." She said gently, removing her right glove to reveal a tanned and sword calloused hand. She carefully traced the number 8 on Kid's forehead, right between the eyes, with frost. "Now chill out." She said with a smile behind her mask.

Kid gasped, turning slightly pink, the cool sensation seemed to just /cut/ through his obsession and Gwen blinked in surprise when he caught her hand before she could get the glove back on, inspecting it carefully. "So gnarled, so calloused."

"The perils of combat." Gwen pulled her arm away and pulling on her glove again.

"I hope my hands never get that way." Kid said quietly.

Gwen patted Kid on the back. "I hope so too Kid-san. These are the hands of the battle bruised warrior. But I can say this much... here in Death City I am quite content, with only a couple of exceptions."

"I'd be worried if you weren't!" Kid said proudly.


	6. Chapter 6

Morgan walked Maka home from the bookstore late that night. "You know, if you wanted books on survival, you could have come to me. I can recommend some good ones."

"What would you know about survival books?" Demanded Maka.

"Les stroud is the best." Morgan said smugly. Then she heard it. The roar of a hollow, a keen, agonized, high pitched.

"HEEEELLPPPP MEEEEEEEE!" The hollow burst out of a nearby alley, keening in agony, headed right for Maka.

Morgan caught him. "Bakudo 39, ENKOSEN!" CRASH. The hollow hit her shield face first. "Maka RUN!" Morgan yelled. "He's pretty weak, I can take him."

"Pleaaaaaaaaaaaaaseeee!" the hollow begged. "PUT ME OUT OF MY MISERY! I FEEL LIKE SOMEONE RIPPED MY SOUL OUT OOOOOOOH THE AGONY!" the hollow yowled, snapping at Morgan and gnashing his teeth.

"I'm TRYING to do that DAMN YOU!" Morgan yelled.

The hollow looked like an enormous lizard, but walked like a dinosaur, with a sauropod's long neck and a ridge of spines protecting the back of its head.

Then a second leapt from the same direction. Morgan dodged and it grabbed the first hollow by the tail. "JEANIE, DON'T YOU REMEMBER?" The lizard hollow yowled in agony. "YOU'RE NOT SUPPOSED TO EAT ME YOU'RE MY PARTNER! HEEEELLLLP!" The hollow scrabbled towards Maka frantically with the other hollow trying to pull him back by the tail. .

Morgan felt sick. They must have been a meister weapon pair that got killed. "OYE! Did an arrancar with grey skin do this to you? And wiggly ears like an elf?"

"YES YES!" The first hollow struggled. "he shoved his hand into my chest it felt like FIREEE!"

Morgan's face twisted into an angry snarl. "Your partner doesn't even recognize you... I am soooo sorry..." She turned to Maka. "I think Marorin did this to a couple of your classmates." the two hollows struggled, the lizard one yowling for help. "Turned them into those things... you should find their bodies somewhere nearby. I want you to find them, then use the window nearest them to call Shinigami-sama, GO!"

"But what about you?" Maka demanded.

"The type of power I'm about to use Maka-chan, is not fit for your eyes to see." Morgan patted Maka on the head. "Now go..."

Maka turned and ran headlong in the direction the two hollows had come from. "C'mon Soul! We need to get out of here!"

Morgan drew out her inner hollow, the huge white fox knowing exactly what to do. Nine skeletal tails sprouted from her back, each lighting with ebony black flames. The talons that reached for her zanpakuto were like skeletal fox paws, complete with the terrible claws of a Kyuubi no Kitsune. Her feet became skeletal fox paws and she got drawn up on the balls of her feet. Her eyes turned to glow pale green and fox like. The whites turned black. Her ears morphed into fox ears. Two ENORMOUS skeletal wings burst from her back. Finally, the mask formed, a fox's skull similar to Shinigami-sama's, but with wings for ears and blades like scythe blades coming from the sides. Morgan fell on all fours and keened her mourning for the passing of the pair she had to try and cross.

"i wIlL hELp yOu feEl sImPle aNd cLeaN aGaiN fAlLeN mEiStEr aNd wEaPoN. ReSt iN pEaCe." Morgan hissed in a hollow's raspy voice. She collected a cero blast in her mouth and at her tails.

"Morrriiiigaaan!" Maka ran back up the alley. "I can't find their..." Maka gasped. She caught sight of the transformed Morrigan and actually dropped Soul in shock.

"i DiD nOt WiSh FoR mAkA-cHaN tO sEe Me LiKe ThIs." Morgan hissed.

"HUUUNGEERRR!" the second hollow roared. "I could eat ALL your souls and it wouldn't be enough." He charged for Maka, who tried to dive out of the way, too slow!

"iT nEvEr WiLl." Morgan hissed, running in the way and catching the blow on the scythe blades to the side of her mask. "yOuR kInD hUnT fOrEvEr aNd It DoEs NoThInG!" She latched her jaws onto the hollow's throat, pulling him forwards and off his feet with a low, angry growl. Greeny black ichor sprayed all over from her jaws as she struggled with the hollow.

"cErO." Morgan hissed, powering up a cero blast.

The first hollow was literally decapitated. Morgan stomped on the hollow's mask with her rear leg, breaking it.

"MY MEISTER!" The lizard hollow howled. "no wait... wasn't I the Meister? I can't remember! MY LIFE ITS ALL A BLUR!"

"he's losing himself. Or she. I can't tell." Soul said quietly. "he doesn't even remember what role he was."

The Lizard hollow shook his spiked head in confusion, wailing in spiritual agony. The sound was heart wrenching. Maka felt a sense of deep, intense mourning. Morgan roared, leaping and spinning midair, creating a whirling buzz saw of blood red flame that lanced towards the hollow, it dodged the attack and kept thrashing.

Soul could feel the demon in his head giggling in delight at the fire. The attack from Morgan missed, the hollow was thrashing around wailing in confusion. "mAkA-cHaN, wHeN i pUUUlll HiM oVeR, aIm BeTwEeN tHe EyEs!" Morgan urged. "QUICKLY!"

Morgan darted in and out, trying to grab the hollow by its long throat. He'd rear up and try to stomp her. But Morgan was too quick. She took a deep breath and bellowed. "BAKUDO 61, RIKURIKOJO!" The hollow was caught by the spell and fell over. But not before his tail cracked Morgan in the face, breaking her mask and after it, her transformation. "on second thought hold that. I need to find out with him in his right mind what happened."

She walked boldly up to the hollow and ripped off the mask with the last vestiges of hollow claws. "Who were you?"

"My brain... my mind works again! Oh THANK YOU!" The boy whimpered. He had light brown hair and a lot of sunburn, and light brown eyes like autumn leaves. "Autumn Ebony... my title was Demon Mace... oh good lord, what happened to me... I'm a more confused monster than the kisshin is!"

"You died. I need to know, the person who did this to you, did he have grey skin like a dolphin and pointy ears like an elf?"

He nodded, tears welling up in his eyes. "I never got to say goodbye." he sobbed. "My meister and I were taking a shortcut home..." He cried. "Mom's gonna be so mad at me... the guy just came out of nowhere and shoved his fists into our chests. He had something glowing in his hands."

"I am /sooooooo/ sorry." Morgan's eyes teared up. Soul stayed in weapon form, but Maka came closer, crossing herself and bowing her head in mourning.

"T... tell my mom... tell her I'm sorry..." the boy sobbed.

"And I'm sorry, this state isn't going to stay long." Morgan said quietly. "The mask will regrow itself. Only my bakudo is slowing it down." She bent down and drew a cross of her spirit energy on his head. "The only reassurance I can give you is you're bound for a place far more peaceful, and your Meister is waiting there for you. Please... I want you to rest in peace. I can't send you on until I hear from your mouth a physical description of your attacker."

"Yes... yes please, he had g... grey skin, he made noises like a dolphin, and his ears wiggled. He came out of nowhere, out of NOWHERE! He just appeared and shoved his fists through our chests." The weapon said quietly. "I'm in so much pain... he shoved a glowing object into my chest and it HURTS!"

Morgan raised her zanpakuto. "Pacem tu." (latin: Peace to you.) She said as she delivered the coup de gras. (latin: Peace to you.)

Only when the hollow disappeared did Soul change back into weapon form. Maka looped an arm around his shoulder and started to cry. Morgan hugged them both, tears rolling out from under her mask. "I'm sorry. In my tribe, doing that is seen as cruel, but I needed to know how he got that way, and at least he went in his right mind again."

"What happened?" asked Maka quietly as Morgan picked up Maka's books and they went towards the nearest glass panel.

Which was what Shinigami-sama asked.

"Marorin turned two of your students into his monsters, and he did it fast, in an abrupt sneak attack. Before he crossed over, I managed to get a description from the weapon. Thats how I know it was him. He said his attacker had grey skin, and pointy ears like an elf, and came seemingly out of nowhere and shoved a glowing object in his chest."

"oh dear." Shinigami-sama nodded. "Did you get a name?"

"Autumn Ebony, demon mace." Morgan said dully.

"Oh no, his mother's posted to Southeast Asia. I'll send Sid out to search for the bodies, assuming there is one?"

"yes, for Marorin to turn them into some of his creatures, he'd have to have yanked their souls from their body and cut the ties holding them there, then rip out the piece of their Soul that represents their heart. It is a /brutal/ act that in my tribe would result in summary execution of the person who did it. No chance whatsoever at a defense" Morgan was bristling with anger between her sobs. "Sir... I'll walk Maka and Soul home."

"of course." Shinigami-sama signed off, shaking his head sadly.

"Come." Morgan picked up Maka's shopping bags from the bookstore. "I'll make some miso soup for you two when we get home, warm you up a bit inside."

"Thanks..." Maka said dully.

* * *

"i'm going to stay here tonight." Morgan told Ichigo when he came by Maka's apartment to find out what happened. "Marorin rapidly transformed two of the students. Thats /two/ death penalties."

They were on the roof, the moon dribbling blood down its chin above them. They were invisible, imperceptible, inaudible. "Nobody that we know right?" Ichigo asked worriedly.

"Iie. Ichigo-kun, I don't want to leave her tonight, she's very upset, and if I leave, her father will likely take it out of my hide in shenanigans." Morgan said dully. "At least I got an identification for their families."

Ichigo nodded and left over the rooftops. Morgan turned off the protections on her glove execpt the one protecting her soul from detection and headed inside.

* * *

Gwen sang Chrona to sleep, leaving a blanket and some supplies for her and taking the rubbish away. She even taught Chrona how to tell time by the sun. When she came into the lab, Stein was working a tactical program on Yggdrasil. "Soooo..."

Gideon was playing the enemy side. "Stein, this isn't good, I read a 35% failure rate on that round. Before that it was 30, then 25 the time before that, then 40 before then."

"If we can get more data on Marorin we can raise the accuracy rate. This is a rough draft Gideon and we have two weeks still. However..."

"The ramefications if Marorin succeeds are dire. The worst of which..."

"I know... I know that thing could get loose." the word "thing" was spoken disdainfully. "Lets get a bit more data on Kid and Maka, I haven't had as much contact with them as their parents have. Marorin's entire plan for the Festival day seems to be to take the..."

"Sir?" Gwen spoke up.

"oh sorry Gwen, everyone's asleep, but you just missed Ulquiorra, he brought you a gift from Grimmjow. Its something he calls "Regeneration Herb." I've studied it before, it could make a seishoken shinigami able to regenerate like the ones that live here. Almost the exact same way."

Gwen nodded dully. "I'm guessing he also gave you information."

"Well yes. But I'm working on this a bit more. Gwen... I need you to try and get Marorin to fight you and get it on tape."

"You're doing a Game with Gideon-taichou."

Former special agent Jason Gideon was one of the founding members of the FBI's behavioral analysis unit. Along with L, Ciel, Shikamaru, Near, Sophie Deveraux, Nathan Ford, and several others, he ran what he called "Games." In reality, they were tactical simulators, which put several players in front of a computerized board. Two sides then played out a scenario on the board. Sometimes the scenario was a survival scenario, or a disaster, sometimes it was tactically playing out a simulation of a possible battle to come.

Which was what they were doing.

Gwen sighed. "Tell Ulquiorra thank you if he comes again with more data."

Gwen transmitted a bug into Stein's computer and went upstairs, running an epsom salt bath before bed. She filled the tub with lavendar bubble bath and wonderfully warm water.

As Stein began the simulation again Gwen watched the tactical game.

It seemed to be a simulation of the upcoming Deathscythe festival and as Gwen watched it play out she became alarmed. She realized what Ulquiorra had come to warn Stein about.

Marorin was planning to assasinate Shinigami-sama. Gwen's blood boiled, and then it ran cold... so... so cold. Seiryuu growled softly, and a few tendrils of snow blew into her inner world.

Marorin would never get near Shinigami-sama! Of that Gwen was certain!

* * *

"I got an idea, lets spar!" Gwen said cheerfully to Kid. She was in her Mirai costume, not her Amy Gigai. "Kid and Maka versus me!"

"Why am I being left out." Blackstar pouted.

They were hanging out the next day, a saturday.

"You can spar with me." Ichigo said through his Raion mask.

"Just you?" Blackstar asked.

"I'm tougher than I look, my Getsuga Tensho attack can cut this basketball court in half."

"oh fine, as long as you give me a challenge. But if you hold back against me I'll kill you." Blackstar pouted.

"Oh REALLY. I'd be worried if you could catch me!" Ichigo threw his head back in a belly laugh.

Gwen took her position between Kid and Maka, each had taken up their weapons. "Are you sure this is alright?" Maka asked.

"If my strength weren't restrained Miss Albarn, I could put the both of you in the hospital. I highly doubt anything you two can do can cause me serious harm."

In her head, using her cybercom, Gwen began to play "Collapse: Post Amerika" by Rise against. "BEGIN!"

Gwen smirked, as Kid charged in for his first blow, she pulled the tassels on her cloak over to one side, twisting them to look like the number 7.

Kid came to a screeching halt, face turning purple, torn between holding back his anger at the asymmetry and when Maka tried to fill in for Kid's weakness by attacking her back, Gwen blocked with the crystal scythe Stein had given her. Then she grinned, looming over Kid and trying to hit him. Kid dodged. Gwen grinned. "I know what that look on your face means. You don't want to attack me enraged by the asymmetry I created in my hood, but at the same time you're fighting with the rage. Unfortunately Kid-san, when it comes to your neurosis, you have no pokerface."

Gwen turned, kicking Kid backwards across the court. "Hey Maka, your ankles are fat!" Gwen laughed.

Maka turned furiously red. "WITCH HUNTER!" She charged at Gwen with Soul, aiming to do some serious damage.

Gwen caught her scythe blade with one hand. Her knee came up into Maka's stomach and she brought her fists back down Vegeta style on her back. Then she scooped Maka up by the arms and flung her to land squarely in a heap on top of Kid. Soul, Liz and Patti made dizzy by Gwen's speed changed back and now the five of them were flopped on the ground.

Gwen loomed over the group of them. "NEVER, let your rage dictate your actions in battle. You can feel anger, but you must never act on it. Do that with the wrong opponent and you and your weapon partner can DIE. Now get up, we're doing that again."

Soul gulped. Maka glared at Gwen. Kid sighed. "I thought you were here to test us, not teach us."

"Oh believe me, right now I'm doing both. GET. UP. In a real battle, its not over till either you or your enemy is dead. No matter if you lose an arm, a leg, an eye, NONE of it matters! You come home with your shield or ON it!"

"Thats what the Spartans used to say." Maka glared. "This isn't ancient greece you know."

"Oh I know, its Shibusen, tell me Maka, what would you have done if Blair were really a witch? If she'd /really/ bewitched Soul into joining her? You'd be dead! There can be no fighting with your partner on the battlefield, such an action is unacceptable. And YOU." she glared at Kid. "I could say volumes about your self control at the pyramid of anubis." Kid started to cry.

"I'm SCUM pure SCUM! I destroyed an amazing symmetrical marvel."

Gwen grabbed Kid by the collar. "You're more worried about the pyramid than what you can learn from your failure? PATHETIC!" She threw him so that he landed perfectly draped over the backboard. "IF YOU ACT LIKE THAT IN A FIGHT, THE ENEMY'S JUST GONNA KILL YOU, THEY AREN'T GOING TO CARE ABOUT SYMMETRY OR YOUR STATE OF MIND!" Gwen yelled at Kid. "DON'T YOU FUCKING GET IT? CONTROL YOUR SYMMETRY NEUROSIS IN BATTLE OR THE ENEMY WILL USE IT SHAMELESSLY AGAINST YOU!" Gwen dusted her hands off.

Kid stared at her, jaw dropped.

"You both think you're hot? Try again." Gwen said coldly. "i've seen enemies capable of ripping your heads from your bodies bare handed."

Kid shimmied down the pole. Soul, Liz and patti changed back into weapon forms and just as Kid picked his pistols back up Gwen was standing on the backboard. "A valuable lesson. NEVER give up the high ground."

Ice spears rained down on them. Kid and Maka dodged the shower. "Human beings rarely look up, and for the most part shinigami don't either." Gwen said dully. "History proves to the inquiring tactician that if you have the high ground you can get the drop on your enemy."

Kid barely evaded the kick she leveled his way. Gwen landed on the ground and concentrated on her crystal scythe.

"Crystal hunter." She said cooly. She charged Maka headlong.

CLANG SCHHHHHTTTTTTT sparks flew from Soul's blade. Maka gasped. "So strong..." She skipped aside, struggling for balance. "My arms... urrggg. Just how strong /are/ you?"

"I'm currently fighting at less than five percent of my full capacity. If I were operating at 20 I could knock you over with my wavelength. Higher than that and my wavelength would be suffocating to normal humans if I weren't trying to control it but a Meister could endure. A single slice of my scythe could tear a building in half." Gwen said coldly. "when you deal with my Tribe's enemies, that is the sort of power you need to be ready to face."

Maka took a fresh grip on Soul, breathing heavily. "Kid back off a second, I want to have another shot at that crystal hunter technique."

"Alright." Kid fell into a defensive stance.

"WITCH HUNTER!"

Gwen charged. "CRYSTAL HUNTER!"

The second time it was more visible. "OH MY GOD COOOOLLLDDD!" Soul howled as his blade clashed with Gwen's.

Maka didn't blame Soul for once. He dropped out of weapon form in shock, entire left arm covered in ICE! Maka's arm had a few pieces frozen on it too.

Gwen glared. "this techinique doesn't require contact to do damage, some... just don't impact without a touch. Random I suppose." She yawned, the hinges of her mask opening to communicate the gesture.

"Soooooo... lets see, besides ankles, what can I get your goat on Maka hmmmm... oh yes... HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA, YOU HAVE A STOOPID DAD!"

CRUNCH the book missed Gwen by a mile. CRASH! Gwen sent Soul flying. "You guys pass the test if you can go one taunt without giving in to your rage. The instant you let your anger take you, you've LOST! One symmetry freak out, one stupid squabble about whether or not you've got a small chest or big feet, thats all it takes and the two of you DIE! Until you show me that you get it, you can't even think about taking on Marorin. He's too powerful and he enjoys using the things that irritate you against you."

"Like Excalibur?" Gwen could sense Patti's headtilt. "He really annoyed Kid."

"OH did he now. Well, alright then, if you fail this test as punishment the two of you and your weapons have to spend the day with this Excalibur person."

Kid groaned. So did Maka. They /both/ knew the Holy Sword's reputation and Kid had spared Maka no detail about how annoying he was.

"sooooo... Maka do you stuff your bra or do you buy breast fo..." Maka glared at Gwen with her eyes full of absolute rage. "you know what it is, you're not confident in yourself, so like many women, you compensate by smashing any man that criticizes your appearance, anything to keep them from seeing that tiny wedge of insecurity in your emotional door. But Maka Albarn-san... thats a luxury you can't afford!" Gwen growled, her scythe crashing down short of Maka, who dodged, side stepping her blow and bringing Soul up to block.

CRUNCH. Maka's arms buckled under the force of the blow and the ground splintered and cracked under her feet.

"BIG FEET BIG FEET, SMALL CHEST SMALL CHEST! YOUR DADDY'S SO WEIRD, THAT GUY WHO SMASHES WATERMELONS WITH A MALLET STARED AT HIM. YOUR DADDY'S SO WEIRD, HE MAKES THE MUPPETS CRY." Gwen taunted.

"jeeeeze..." Soul grunted as Maka charged Gwen. Maka was soooo close to completely losing her head that he was fully ready to drop weapon form and pull her back.

Gwen started to see reason creep back into Maka's expression. "BOOKWORM NERD GEEK!"

"LETTER U HUNTER!" Gwen blocked the blow coming after her. "FIGURE SIX HUNTER!" The next one scored a direct hit. Blood spurted from the wound, only to freeze into crystals. The blood crystals shattered into shards, leaving a clean freeze of the wound.

SWISH Gwen flung the crystals hydrokinetically at Maka. She spun Soul, sending them flying. Gwen charged, lowering her scythe and flinging sand up into her face. It was a manuver the old ninja books called "Metsubushi."

Maka's hand flung up to protect her eyes only for Gwen to get under her guard and her elbow up into Maka's diaphram. Maka staggered back. "You know... you'll never fit Soul's tastes, you're so mismatched its like night and day..." she snickered. "Why else are you so possessive of him? Its not because you care about him its because you're afraid of him leaving you..." Gwen understood how crushing the fear of loss was. She knew it could stop a fight in its tracks. Yes, Maka had problems with jealousy, but she also had an attachment to her weapon that reminded Gwen of her own fears of loss, and even if that wasn't what was going on, it was a basic enough fear that it might still have an effect.

Maka froze, and Gwen grabbed her by the shoulders and sent her flying. "you're not jealous, you just feel inadaquate next to Soul because you think he's doing the fighting. You never take into account that guess what? He can't move on the battlefield without you. He can't do a thing without you... but instead... well... that scar on his chest is evidence of your hesitation. Even if things hadn't happened the way they did with the demon sword, if you'd died, he wouldn't have been able to go back to human form until the coast was clear. You know how much that would likely have hurt him to not be able to reach his Meister's mangled body on the ground? Ever think that losing you is more painful to him than that scar?"

Maka screamed, SWISH! "I'll... show you... hesiTATION!" Maka yelled. Her eyes BLAZED.

Gwen had saved the most potent and biting words Marorin might use against Maka to build her back up again and build her resolution. She hoped.

The witch hunter missed Gwen by inches, and Gwen whispered something in Maka's ear... "when you dodge, you don't let them hit you."

Another nasty upwards slash, Gwen blocked it, leaned in and whispered. "When you protect someone, you don't let them die."

Then she brought her fist up into Maka's diaphram a second time and whispered in her ear. "And when you strike, kill."

Maka fell over waving her hand slightly in surrender. "I think I'm out of it."

"Then let that last bit be your Resolution, Maka Albarn-san." Gwen bowed asian style to Maka turned to Kid. "You're next. I'm going to throw every asymmetrical thing I can think of at you, including your hair. Remember, if you freak out, you fail the test and have to spend a day with Excalibur for a punishment."

Kid freaked out for about 10 minutes before he threw in the towel and snarled. "C'mon Liz, Patti, we're going to see Excalibur."

"So self control, something that Shibusen prizes, is not worth pursuing to Lord Death's Son? Clearly you aren't worthy of your father's position. But thats okay, who wants to inherit /that/ quagmire."

"Say that again?" Kid's face twitched.

Gwen flashstepped so that she was looming over Kid. "You heard me, you're daddy's little boy, or you try to be, until something asymmetrical makes you uncomfortable and then what you /think/ your father wants for you goes out the window. You'd rather face Excalibur than admit that you don't have any control."

Kid's fists where white with the strength of his grip. Gwen's wavelength suddenly went from challenging to neutral.

/She's waiting for me to fly off the handle. She challenged Maka's relationship with her family and her Partners. There's no reason for her not to challenge my relationship with my father either. This is my chance... but the urge to punch her is so strong.../

He looked up into her face, and Kid's eyes widened. Mirai's eyes, they had no pupils, was she blind? They were bright, brilliant green and then...

Mirai's eyes turned an intense sapphire and slitted, like a reptile. Witches eyes did that didn't they? But Mirai was a shinigami!

"Well?" Gwen asked.

"There's no way you're going to make me react the way Maka did, how would Soul put this? I'm too cool to fall for that." Kid said coldly. "Sometimes the best way to end a fight is not to start one."

Gwen giggled, a growly nightmarish sound through the voice changer. "TEN POINTSU..." She made a victory sign. "You pass!"

Maka's jaw hung open.

"Maka, I'm gonna go get the first aid kit from the mansion, I think we should put some ice on those bruises." Kid told her. "You can come with me or wait for me to come back, and if you want there's a couple of spare rooms you and Soul can crash in for the night. You'd be right across from Liz and Patti."

"OUR FIRST SLEEPOVERRRRRRR!" Patti pounced Maka. "Please Maka, please please please please please please please please!"

"Ow yeah that sounds like a good idea." Maka rubbed her head.

"interesting, you respond to provocation in two different ways. Expected though, since I doubt you'd respond tactically to the same situation."

"Why'd you do this anyway?" Soul asked.

"Marorin is the kind of opponent that relies on making his enemies fly off the handle. He's a manipulator who gets amusement out of making people angry." Gwen replied. "Shibusen vaunts itself on self control, but your Meister, Kid and Blackstar both have lost control at some point. Expected of a child, dangerous on the battlefield. When I was your age is probably a cliché at this point, but I also understand the damage that a lack of self control can do because I've been there. And every time I killed an enemy in a fit of rage, even though they were enemies, I felt sick inside. Its not a pleasant feeling to destroy something in anger, even if the something was evil. I don't want Marorin to provoke you to your deaths, but at the same time, I don't want you to win with anger in your heart."

Gwen flashstepped away and disappeared from soul perception, leaving the Meisters and weapons to think about what they had seen.


End file.
